Is Clinton Ready to Talk?

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WASHINGTON: Could it be that after six months of silence, the President is finally ready to talk about Monica? Bill Clinton's personal lawyer, David Kendall, is in negotiations with Ken Starr about providing testimony to Starr's investigation -- but what sounds like a sudden attack of cooperativeness by the White House may be less song than dance. "The White House lawyers have debriefed the Secret Service agents, and they may have decided that Starr just doesn't have enough for the President to be worried about," says TIME White House correspondent Jay Branegan. "They may have given Clinton the green light."

Special Report Of course a subpoena for the President could be on the way (and may have arrived already -- that's a secret that even Mike McCurry claimed not to know on Friday), and in that case the negotiations with Starr are strictly a defensive maneuver. "Clinton doesn't want to make Starr drag him into court," says Branegan. "This gives the appearance of cooperation and disclosure. The last thing the White House wants is another constitutional showdown right in time for the November elections."