[12/11/1996–09/23/1997]: 42-t-26444785-20060476F-001-002-2013

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• MR. STEPHANOPOULOUS: The genius of both Social Security and Medicare
. were that they were broad-based programs, that they were not welfare. They
were universal insurance. Can the wealthy perhaps pay a little bit more in
the context of an overall fix? Yes. Should you do it while you're
tax cuts to the wealthy? Should'you undermine the universal program while
you're doing that? No.
MR. WILL: This passed, by the way, 70 to 30, with 21 Democrats voting
for it.
MR. DONALDSON: Let'me talk now about what the independent counsel is
doing. And I'm not certain what he's doing -- you can tell me: Mr. Starr,
, according to the newspaper reports, and they've confirmed it to some
extent, has now tried to interview some of the women allegedly who had
romantic liaisons -- allegedly -- with Bill Clinton back when he was
30vernor.
And the question is, what business it of the independent counsel's?
Is he doing something legitimate? You cover, the Justice Department.
MS. DOUGLASS: Well, there's certainly a difference of opinion ab9ut
whether this is legitimate or not. Starr's office put. out a statement
saying that, A, a lot of what ~~The Post" reported was wrong, that B,
some of these that there are no notes that indicate that these
questions actually were asked of the troopers; questions like, have you
ever seen the perform a sex act, for example.
On the other hand, there -
MR. DONALDSON: Well, that clearly has nothing to do -- 1. want to be
very serious about it. That'has nothing to do with the mandat~ that the
court gave the independent counsel, to look into someone's sex life per
se, does it?
MS. DOUGLASS: Well, that's exactly the argument against what it is that
Starr appears to be doing according to these accounts from the troopers,
asking if the president's ever had an illegitimate child,' for example.'
On the other hand, Starr's people say that 're pursuing legitimate
prosecutorial techniques, looking for pillow talk, if. you will, looking
for people who might have been confided, in. I guess one of the questions
is why are they getting to that now?
MR. STEPHANOPOULOUS:,But this isn't the only example of St~rr run amok.
You know, another story that carne out this week is that they hauled in a
man named Bob Hattoy (ph), an Interior. Department official who happens to
be gay, and asked him if it was his job to homosexuals in the
highest levels of the federal government. These guys are on a wild goose
chase. Starr's gone on for three years, and he's losing credibility every
week.
MR. KRISTOL: Whatever the truth about Starr, the'independent counsel
statute is an invitation to people to run amok.
MR. STEPHANOPOULOUS: Absolutely.
MR. KRISTOL: It should be -- it's always been a bad idea, 'it's never
produced anything good, in my view. And I think Republicans have opposed
it from the beginning, and a courageous Republican should stand up on the
floor of the Senate or the House when they get back next week and propose
that it be repealed.
MR. WILL: Yes. Lawrence Walsh has now published a 500-and-some page
volume on his pursuit of the great white whale in Iran-contra. And if his
case -- how many millions, $40 million? -- if his case didn't demonstrate
the danger of a lawyer with one client, this one will perhaps. I mean,
since I'm against the independent counsel in general, I'm not going to
reach the threshold question of -- '
,MR. DONALDSON: Well, but that was a return to the threshold question.,
Joe DiGenova, a ,former prosecutor in this town, says that it is
common practice, the so-called pillow talk, to try to find people like
that and say, ~~Now did he ever say anything about a loan that Judge Hale
made?" In other words, trying to find from this intimate conversation
something that has to do with the mandate.
MR. KRISTOL: Well, it's common practice in with mobsters to'try
to find their , you know, and see what they've said. I don't
really know that it's appropriate for the president of the United S,tates.
But again, you have an independent counsel with a totally open mandate and
no constraints.
MS. DOUGLASS: And an unlimited budget.
MR. KRISTOL: Unlimited budget and no constraints on him.
MR. DONALDSON: Okay. Mike Tyson\bit off a portion of Evander
Holyfield's ear and therefore lost the fight. What's going ot} here, and
what should happen to Mike Tyson now?
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