Although Lewinsky testified that Clinton fondled her intimately, his lawyers said he was only a passive recipient of oral sex. They said that when the president testified in the deposition and to the grand jury, he truly believed that oral sex fell outside the definition of sex relations established by the judge in the Jones case, the lawyers said. It is a defense that has angered many of the president's Democratic supporters. If Clinton were to take that advice, tell the whole truth and abandon his legal defenses, he might avert impeachment but could incriminate himself. Starr rejected the possibility of indicting the president before sending his report to Congress.
Many constitutional scholars doubt that a sitting president can be indicted.
Prosecuting a president, Bork argued, would impair his ability to carry out his vital role. But Starr's report to the House of Representatives does not preclude the possibility that Clinton still may be prosecuted after he leaves office. Prosecutors would have great reluctance to indict a president, a grand jury probably would reject the charges, and his successor could pardon him. They have yet to report their findings on investigations popularly known as Whitewater, Travelgate and Filegate. The first refers to the role of Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton in an Arkansas land deal.