Starr Gets Win on Executive Privilege

WASHINGTON: Chalk up another one for Ken Starr. Judge Norma Holloway Johnson has denied President Clinton's claim of executive privilege in the Monica Lewinsky inquiry and handed the independent counsel another victory in his fight to crack the White House's tight-lipped inner circle.

Now the race is on for Starr to get his case to the Supreme Court before it goes on break June 23. President Clinton, of course, would prefer that didn't happen. "The White House never expected to win," says TIME White House correspondent Jay Branegan. "This has always been a stall tactic, and they'd love for this to wait until October when the Court returns. Right now, it's too close to call."

But Judge Johnson, after striking down Monica's immunity deal Thursday, has just handed Starr his second major victory in a week -- legal wins that translate into political burnish for the independent counsel's reputation. And as the President knows, the fight for credibility is a zero-sum game.