Office of the
Independent Counsel
Press Release: Wednesday, March 6, 2002
Today, acting on the May 18, 2001 application of the Independent Counsel, the Special Division of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously ordered the public release of the Final Report of the Independent Counsel (In re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association, Div. No. 94-1 (D.C. Cir. [Spec. Div.] Jan. 16, 1998) (regarding Monica Lewinsky and others). The report also disclosed publicly for the first time that the final report related to Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association has been completed and was filed with the Special Division in March of last year. Under the Independent Counsel statute, a report filed with the Special Division remains under seal until such time, if at all, the Special Division authorizes its public release.
The public release of the Final Report (regarding Monica Lewinsky and others) is the culmination of this Office's orderly procedure initiated by our January 19, 2001 announcement of the conclusion of the investigation and simultaneous determination not to prosecute President William J. Clinton (the press release and other information related to this decision also can be reached as a link from this Office's web site www.oicray.com). The Independent Counsel decided to exercise his discretion, consistent with the principles of federal prosecution, to decline prosecution of all matters within the January 16, 1998 jurisdictional mandate of the Special Division of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The evidence and analysis contained in the now unsealed Final Report formed the basis for the determination on January 19, 2001, that the investigation should be closed without bringing criminal charges.
On his last full day in office, President Clinton admitted to intentional misconduct and entered into an Agreed Order of Discipline, acknowledging to an Arkansas court that he had knowingly provided evasive and misleading answers about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Those answers were given in a deposition presided over by Judge Susan Webber Wright of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas in the Jones v. Clinton case, who personally administered the oath to President Clinton. Three years after President Clinton testified in that deposition, he admitted that his knowingly evasive and misleading answers were prejudicial to the administration of justice and expressly acknowledged that some of his responses to deposition questions about Lewinsky were false.
In the Independent Counsel's judgment, there was sufficient evidence to prosecute President Clinton for violating federal criminal laws within this Office's jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the Independent Counsel concluded, consistent with the Principles of Federal Prosecution, that further proceedings against President Clinton for his conduct should not be initiated. That decision was supported by:
(1) President Clinton's admission of providing false testimony that was knowingly misleading, evasive, and prejudicial to the administration of justice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas;
(2) his acknowledgement that his conduct violated the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Arkansas Supreme Court;
(3) the five-year suspension of his license to practice law and $25,000 fine imposed on him by the Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Arkansas;
(4) the civil contempt penalty of more than $90,000 imposed on President Clinton by the federal court for violating its orders;
(5) the payment of more than $850,000 in settlement to Paula Jones;
(6) the express finding by the federal court that President Clinton had engaged in contemptuous conduct; and
(7) the substantial public condemnation of President Clinton arising from his impeachment.
Over the course of this investigation, this Office faced numerous challenges to its professional integrity and the lawful exercise of its authority. These allegations of professional and other misconduct and the claims of a right to withhold evidence ultimately were rejected. These allegations and other tactics had a substantial impact on the prompt completion of this Office's work, delaying in some cases for months access to available evidence. Responding to these allegations and claims also increased substantially the expense of this investigation,(1) but it was essential to do so in order for the Independent Counsel to fulfill the mandates sought by the Attorney General and conferred by the Special Division.
The release of this Report reflects the final stage to completing the investigation in a prompt, responsible, and cost effective manner. The Final Report In re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association, Div. No. 94-1 (D.C. Cir. [Spec. Div.] Jan. 16, 1998) (regarding Monica Lewinsky and others) is available today at the main U.S. Government Bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C. and online from GPO Access http://icreport.access.gpo.gov, which also can be reached as a link from this Office's web site www.oicray.com.
1 From August 5, 1994 through December 31, 2001, this Office incurred total expenses of approximately $70 million (an arithmetic error appears on page 143 of the report; the direct costs should total $48,149,096). This figure includes approximately $17 million (26%) in costs incurred by federal agencies, but not reimbursed by this Office, whose personnel were detailed to this Office. The investigation regarding Monica Lewinsky and others incurred expenses of approximately $12.5 million.
