“The hope is that she will come across as an honest, somewhat contrite young woman.”LAWYER RON KUBY
Impeachment interrogators should treat Monica Lewinsky gently or they’ll come across as ogres, veteran New York lawyers say.
“The potential of humiliating Miss Lewinsky to a point beyond repair or alienating her to a point beyond repair should be a real concern,” high-profile criminal lawyer Benjamin Brafman said.
“Any skillful trial lawyer would recognize her as a witness that could self-destruct or explode at any given moment and bring down the whole proceeding.”
Scheduled for tomorrow, Lewinsky’s questioning by House manager Rep. Ed Bryant (R-Tenn.) and White House lawyers at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington will be videotaped and may eventually be broadcast publicly.
Brafman believes Bryant should stay away from the subject of sex and focus instead on obstruction of justice.
“Detailing sexual escapades in a manner which embarrasses all concerned and doesn’t add much to the body of proof, which is already out there, might be viewed as unnecessary and cruel,” he said.
Brooklyn lawyer Arthur Aidala said White House lawyers should craft any cross-examination questions so Lewinsky’s answers are short and reinforce points she made in her grand jury testimony that help their side.
“They would have to stay away from open-ended questions and just ask questions like ‘Isn’t it true that President Clinton never asked you to lie about your affair?'” Aidala said.
Civil rights lawyer Ron Kuby disagreed with Brafman about sex, arguing that having Lewinsky repeat her sex testimony could help the House’s case for impeachment.
“This will be the first time anybody has seen her live except the grand jurors,” Kuby said.
“The hope is that she will come across as an honest, somewhat contrite young woman who was badly used by someone who should have known better.”
The one word that should guide the questioning by both sides, especially on the subject of sex, is “focus,” Aidala said.
“It should take no more than five or 10 precise questions to hit that topic and get out,” he said.
“If they start dilly-dallying in that area it’s going to make the Republicans look like they’re just trying to embarrass the president.”