Bill Clinton to offer court opinion on unsealing Lewinsky investigation records

Lawyers representing former President Bill Clinton told a federal court on Friday that the former president would like to weigh in on whether records from the 1998 grand jury investigation regarding his affair with Monica Lewinsky should be unsealed.

CNN reported Friday that a request from Clinton’s lawyer David Kendall indicates the former president will offer an opinion on whether documents that stayed secret following Ken Starr’s investigation of the president and a possible cover-up should be released to the public.

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CNN filed a request arguing the records should be released, saying that they could help explain how the special counsel probe headed by Robert Mueller might seek testimony from President Trump. Clinton testified under oath before a grand jury in 1998.

The news network notes in the article that neither CNN nor the Justice Department oppose Clinton’s request to comment, making the possibility a judge will grant the request likely.

Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election hit a new stage this week when prosecutors for the special counsel’s office announced indictments against 13 Russian nationals and 3 organizations for allegedly interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

An indictment released Friday details a sophisticated effort to use false social media profiles to spread divisive information among Americans in the years leading up to 2016, including accounts that impersonated Black Lives Matter activists and the Tennesee Republican Party.

“The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Friday. “We must not allow them to succeed.”

Mueller is also investigating allegations of collusion between members of Trump’s campaign and Russia. The possibility that Trump will speak to Mueller as part of the investigation, or that he might wind up speaking to a grand jury, has sparked comparisons to former presidents required to testify in other cases.