The first of Ray's reports will reportedly clear the president and his advisors of any culpability for the FBI file fiasco. Travelgate, dating back to the first weeks of the Clinton administration, has been a non-starter for years. As for prosecuting one or the other of the Clintons, the public bears such lingering ill-will toward the whole Ken Starr operation that any new prosecution by this final janitorial squad will ensure Democratic presidents for the next 25 years. This week's leaked Justice Department memos show that Gore came closer than previously known to facing an independent counsel investigation of his own. But the fact that Attorney General Janet Reno decided to let the Justice Department's career prosecutors handle the case doesn't necessarily spell cover-up.
Law firms argue strategy all the time, and managing partners sometimes make unpopular calls.
Even U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, the chair of the Government Operations Committee who bitterly criticized Reno's decision to handle the matter in-house, now praises the investigation. All rights reserved.