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Later, they called to ask about the nails in the wall where pictures once hung. They made it sound so sinister. I told them Monica was packing to move to New York for that new job with Revlon, remember? And I asked them if they had seen the boxes on the floor. They had, but never opened them. That's where Monica's pictures and mementos were! The next day, they examined Monica's computer hard drive and found that her brother and mother had used it, so they made it all sound sinister, like we gave them the wrong computer. They took her clothes because of a report by Matt Drudge about a semen-stained dress. Next was the absurd leak that Betty Currie, the President's trusted secretary, implicated him in obstruction of justice or witness tampering. This leak was a transparent attempt to create an unfair environment for President Clinton and my client.
Day after day, it has been leak after leak. I didn't say a word about discussions with the Office of the Independent Counsel. No comment. No comment. I kept asking Nate, How do the reporters know this stuff? The Office of the Independent Counsel is leaking it, said Nate. Meanwhile, Starr's people kept talking to us, but instead of "queen for a day" privileges, they wanted "queen for a month." And they wanted a polygraph test. What do we get in exchange besides your goodwill? I asked. They said they'd decide that later.
Finally we got to the point where they offered immunity again, 10 days afterward--it was Jan. 29 or 30. So for the next couple of days, we drafted agreements and wrote up an additional proffer at their request. They told us the issues, and Monica wrote the facts on each--if she had anything relevant. They went through three or four drafts of the immunity agreement. We agreed orally to a deal. Finally they sent us a letter confirming our oral agreement that the U.S. Government would promise not to prosecute Monica. This was Monday, Feb. 2. We had a deal. The Office of the Independent Counsel sent the letter on their letterhead by an FBI agent. Nate signed, I signed. I went to the Watergate and Monica signed. I sent it back. They wanted to know if they could talk to her right away, but Monica wanted to see her father. So they said they would come out to Los Angeles. We even talked about when they could see her: 10 to 3 every day, 11 to 3 on Saturday and Sunday. I came home thinking I was going to be working with the FBI and the Office of the Independent Counsel on Monica's debriefing, maybe have her do a polygraph.
Last Wednesday the Office of the Independent Counsel called me in Los Angeles saying they had changed their minds. They wanted to talk to Monica without us. They wanted to redo the deal. I was angry, to say the least. I can't remember how many times they granted her immunity and changed their minds--at least three times. But this time, it was one too many. So this week we plan to file a motion in court to enforce the agreement. This was a binding agreement that they sent us in writing.