Arlen Specter: “I now seek to discuss, or comment, on the escalating war between the President and independent counsel and to urge the…”

“I now seek to discuss, or comment, on the escalating war between the President and independent counsel and to urge the independent counsel to reply forcefully in the public forum to attacks, as opposed to the use of the grand jury as a means of investigating the people who are proposing and undertaking those attacks. My own sense is that independent counsel would be well advised to reply to his critics in a public forum, and by that I do not mean in his driveway in the morning, but, when criticized, to reply. I have had some experience as a prosecutor running grand jury investigations, and it is an inevitable consequence that, when someone is under investigation, that person, persons or entity, will not like the investigation. I think it would be enormously useful if the American people knew, for example, why Mr. Starr is in the investigation on President Clinton's personal affairs. People ask the question, how did he move from the investigation of an Arkansas land deal, where he has been engaged for many years at very substantial cost, over to the investigation of the President on his personal matters? There is a very direct answer, but one which I think very few people know. That is that Attorney General Reno asked Mr. Starr to conduct this investigation. That request was made by the Attorney General about 6 weeks ago.”