I've Got a State Secret

WASHINGTON: For the first time in exactly three weeks of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, a source has gone on the record publicly to say he saw Clinton and Lewinsky alone together in the Oval Office directly contradicting the President's testimony. Lewis Fox, a retired Secret Service agent, broke his code of silence to tell all to the Washington Post. One afternoon in late 1995, he says, Lewinsky arrived with some paperwork for the President. At Clinton's bidding, Fox let her in and stood outside another 40 minutes before being relieved.

That may not sound like much, but it means Fox is Ken Starr's new best friend. This contradicts Clinton's reported testimony to Paula Jones' lawyers that he was never alone with Lewinsky. If true, the story would provide major evidence of presidential perjury. Starr has already subpoenaed an interview Fox gave with his local CNN affiliate.

When precisely did the meeting take place? That's where Fox's story starts to break down. He says he can't remember whether it was September, October or November. On the Tripp tapes, Lewinsky says the affair began November 15. The White House pooh-poohs the idea that a visitor to the President could be waved through by anyone but a staff member, but Fox says Betty Currie was absent that day. If the story checks out with the logs, Clinton could find himself in hot water betrayed by a member of his own secret guard.