Clinton to Starr: Do Your Worst

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WASHINGTON: Damn the subpoenas, full speed ahead. Administration sources tell TIME that President Clinton will refuse to testify if subpoenaed in the Lewinsky investigation, setting the stage for possible impeachment proceedings in the House. Clinton's legal team believe they have everything to gain by his silence. They're prepared to gamble that a popular President is effectively unimpeachable in an election year -- and that Starr's alleged habit of leaking to the press gives them enough of a cover story. "If this guy is willing to break the law and leak information out of the grand jury to pursue Bill Clinton," one aide tells TIME, "there are serious reservations about whether we should cooperate."

Special Report Ironically, the decision to take a stand comes just as the White House retreats on the hard-fought issue of executive privilege. The Supreme Court gave Clinton until 4:30 p.m. Monday to make his views known on the war Starr wants to wage in their chambers over Bruce Lindsey and Sidney Blumenthal. The President is pleading of no contest -- dramatically scaling down his aide's legal claims from executive privilege to attorney-client privilege. As both Clinton and Starr know, you only fight the battles you can win.