Into the Line of Fire

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"We certainly know that no one in the White House, at least to the best of my knowledge, has tried to use any information to in any way improperly influence the RTC or any federal agency." So said President Clinton last week in his televised news conference -- but his words do not quite jibe with a story that special counsel Robert Fiske and a Whitewater grand jury were hearing almost simultaneously. Fiske's probers, TIME has learned, are weighing charges that White House aides tried -- though unsuccessfully -- to force the firing of the lawyer heading a civil investigation for the government's Resolution Trust Corporation that is closely related to the Whitewater affair.

If those charges can be proved, they could harm the President far more than the ones he tried to turn aside in his news conference -- rated even by Republican foes as an impressively smooth performance -- or the accusations leveled by G.O.P. Congressman Jim Leach in a speech hours earlier on the House floor. The new charges involve not what obscure Arkansas wheeler-dealers did 15 years ago but what was said as recently as late February by George Stephanopoulos, the President's most trusted political adviser after his wife and the Vice President. And the story brings up the dread words obstruction of justice -- even in the minds of Administration officials. Says one: "Based on the facts we believe Fiske has developed during his grand jury sessions, it's possible that at least one and perhaps several Section 1505 indictments could issue." Section 1505 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code brands any attempt to "influence, obstruct or impede the due and proper administration of the law" a crime punishable by imprisonment as long as five years.

More important still will be inquiries into what events inside the White House propelled the angry calls to the Treasury officials. Did President Clinton ask that his aide make the calls, or was Stephanopoulos acting purely on his own initiative? Asked by TIME on Saturday whether Clinton had requested him to initiate the discussions about Jay Stephens, the lawyer in question, Stephanopoulos replied with a quick and emphatic "No."

Earlier, White House chief of staff Mack McLarty told TIME that Stephanopoulos had spoken to the President on Friday and that "to the best of my knowledge," it was the first time they had discussed the calls relating to Stephens. McLarty added that though he had complete confidence in Stephanopoulos, he was asking newly appointed White House counsel Lloyd Cutler to launch a detailed review of the whole affair. The chief of staff put out a formal statement to the daily press asserting that Stephanopoulos and White House deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes "have no recollection of asking anyone" to fire Stephens and pointing out that Stephens "is continuing to conduct his inquiry for the RTC." But, the Associated Press reported Saturday, top RTC officials were informed about the White House calls and briefly considered removing the lawyer.