Last week, Mr. Clinton attempted to protect those conversations by invoking executive privilege for the first time since the closing days of the embattled Nixon administration. The concept of executive privilege dates back to George Washington. But Mr. Clinton isn't the only one who doesn't want to tell a thing. White House lawyers are also claiming executive privilege for conversations between the first lady and two top aides. It is difficult to see how the first lady can assert executive privilege when she is not an executive of this government.
Few observers expect the president's invocation of executive privilege to be successful.
But since neither Congress nor the Supreme Court has ever defined the parameters of privilege, the matter is sure to slow the already glacial pace of the investigation. That, in itself, would be a win for the administration, allowing Mr. Clinton to serve out his term while his lawyers quibble in court over the status of every document and conversation. After the service, many signed petitions asking Nebraska's bishop, Joel Martinez, to discontinue Mr. Creech's ministerial appointment. Oscar was celebrating its 70th birthday, so there were plenty of crowsfeet among the flawless facelifts, including Fay Wray, King Kong's original victim in the silent-movie classic. Recent fads like colored lapel ribbons were almost nonexistent, and fashion critics noted that even cleavage was a relative rarity this year-Madonna notwithstanding.