Any new indictments by Starr could delay both reports. The independent counsel is investigating whether Clinton perjured himself or tried to obstruct justice in the Paula Jones case regarding an alleged sexual relationship with former White House aide Lewinsky. Starr also is investigating whether Clinton friend Vernon E. Jordan Jr. helped get Lewinsky a job offer in New York in an effort to influence her Jones testimony. A team of lawyers in Starr's office has been working for about a month to draft portions of the Lewinsky report, the sources said. It's not clear whether Starr will advance conclusions as part of his report on the Lewinsky evidence, but the submission of a report to the House is an implicit finding that potentially impeachable offenses may have occurred.
Prosecutors still lack testimony from the central figures in the investigation.
Both Clinton and Lewinsky, in sworn statements to Jones's lawyers, denied any sexual relationship. The president so far has shown no willingness either to testify before Starr's grand jury or to give any detailed public statement about his relationship with Lewinsky. Lewinsky has demanded immunity from prosecutors for any testimony she might give, and her appearance before the grand jury has been on hold until Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson rules on her lawyer's motion seeking to enforce an immunity agreement he says Starr made and then reneged on. Once Johnson's decision is made, Lewinsky will likely appear before the grand jury or face indictment for perjury in her sworn statement, legal observers said. Linda R. Tripp, the onetime friend who secretly tape-recorded Lewinsky's conversations with her about Clinton, is cooperating with Starr's office and the independent counsel plans to bring her before the grand jury after Lewinsky.