Updated: Mar 3 1998 10:07AM

For the first time, Monica Lewinsky's attorney has admitted his client was alone in the Oval Office with President Clinton a number of times. Of course, being alone doesn't mean any "salacious event" occurred, according to William Ginsburg. But it may contradict Clinton's alleged sworn testimony in the Paula Jones case that he and Lewinsky were never alone. If the former intern is prepared to repeat this whenever she gets in front of the grand jury, immunity or no immunity, Ken Starr will be a happy man.

Right now, Starr has even bigger fish to fry. One of the biggest fishes in Washington, in fact. Vernon Jordan goes before the grand jury Tuesday, and it could be a pivotal moment in Starr's investigation. Jordan, after all, was the special counsel's excuse for joining the dots between Whitewater and Lewinsky -- on the grounds that Jordan was allegedly helping Clinton cover up the Lewinsky affair just as he had obtained Webb Hubbell's silence over Whitewater. If Jordan offers the slightest hint of a concerted effort to keep the former intern quiet, all well and good for Starr. If he sticks to the line given in his first public statement, the grand jury probe becomes more of an uphill struggle.

Not that Starr's efforts are anywhere near exhausted. According to the L.A. Times, he's subpoenaed the legal effects of Lewinsky's former lawyer, Francis Carter. According to CNN, he's dragging Betty Currie and Bruce Lindsey back before the jury Thursday. Maybe after those repeat performances, Starr will feel inclined to finally call Monica herself -- and get this salacious media event over with.

-- Chris Taylor