Cannon raises new allegations of deception

Thursday's impeachment hearing had droned on for 91/2 hours before Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, finally had his chance to speak. Then he didn't waste his allotted five minutes.

He pointed out a new instance in which President Clinton may have lied to the public; disclosed another example of how Clinton may have obstructed justice; sang praise to independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr; and viciously attacked Democrats.He did all that in exactly 4 minutes and 47 seconds, making him one of the few House Judiciary Committee members who managed to stay within the five minutes that rules supposedly gave each for questions.

Even though Starr had outlined numerous instances in which he said Clinton deceived the public and made false statements to courts, Cannon raised another upon which Starr had not focused.

"According to the sworn statement of White House counsel Charles Ruff, the president personally directed him to assert an executive privilege to prevent you from questioning some of his assistants. When he was in Africa, however, President Clinton denied knowing about the assertion of executive privilege.

"Which is it? Did Mr. Ruff ever amend his declaration, or is the president lying to the public on his Africa trip?" Cannon asked.

Starr said that as far as he knows, Ruff never amended his affidavit dated March 17 nor did the president amend his statement made in Africa on March 24.

"So they can't both be right. Either the president had discussed with Mr. Ruff the invocation of executive privilege or he had not. They both cannot be true," Starr said.

Cannon also asked whether it is true that White House officials once asserted executive privilege, which is supposed to protect only sensitive intragovernment communication, to avoid questions about talks with Vernon Jordan, a private citizen, ostensibly about helping find Monica Lewinsky a job.

Starr said such assertions were made but later withdrawn. But he said it is another example of efforts by the White House to stall and obstruct justice.

"We believe that is part of the pattern of the lavish and, we believe, unfounded invocation of executive privilege. How can a con-versation with someone who is outside the government and relating to matters involving an affidavit in a private civil case in securing a job at Revlon for someone . . . possibly justify a good-faith invocation of executive privilege?" Starr said.

"When you look at the totality of the invocation and the withdrawal of executive privilege, I conclude that there is pattern of abuse," Starr said.

Cannon also used his time to praise Starr and attack committee Democrats who had hounded Starr all day.

Cannon told Starr such Democrats are "the president's pro-defamation league. And you know what? They've whiffed today. They've gotten nothing."

Cannon added, "We've had a series of repeated, unsubstantiated and, in fact, embarrassing bombasts directed at you with great intensity, then one to four questions leveled at you - sometimes very complicated - with follow-up interruptions that have made your answers difficult."

He added, "I see now why the pit bulls of this administration have been unleashed on you. You have done a great job . . . I think 1998 is going to be the year of McGuire, Sosa and Starr."