The Woman in Starr's Trap

At the end of the 11-month Lewinsky scandal, it looks as if Bill Clinton may be spared impeachment. But one bit player whose story was sympathetic to his side, and who got caught up in the mess, may be less fortunate. Julie Hiatt Steele's lawyer has been informed by independent counsel Kenneth Starr that Steele will probably be indicted soon for perjury. The indictment is expected to charge that Steele lied under oath when she accused someone else of lying: her former friend Kathleen Willey. Willey has said she told Steele about receiving an unwanted advance from the President. Steele maintains Willey did not say anything about the incident until she asked Steele to lie about it to a reporter.

Starr's prosecutors have been looking for evidence that the White House may have paid or pressured Steele, a Republican, to contradict Willey. To that end, they have pored over her bank, credit and tax records, called her before two grand juries, forced family members to testify and inquired about her 1990 adoption of a Romanian orphan. Steele's brother Ben Hiatt is skeptical that Starr's office asked about the adoption just to see if she could be vulnerable to threats from the White House. He says the queries he received about the adoption--"Why did she do it? How could she afford it?"--led him to think it was Starr's office that wanted to use the issue against her. And several weeks ago, an anonymous caller told Steele's sister that Steele should back Willey's story "if she knows what's good for her and her son." The family has received no word about the results of an FBI probe into the matter. Starr's spokesman has said he couldn't discuss the case. But Steele does know one thing: "I feel I have been strapped to the train track."

--By Viveca Novak