Secret Service agents will have to testify about Oval Office meetings between President Clinton and Ms Monica Lewinsky, according to a new court ruling. The decision by the Washington Federal Appeals Court is a victory for the Independent Counsel, Mr Kenneth Starr. He has been seeking the testimony of two uniformed agents and their legal counsel as part of his investigation into whether President Clinton lied about his relationship with Ms Lewinsky or encouraged others to obstruct justice.
The court rejected the argument of "protective function privilege" by the Secret Service. According to this argument, allowing the agents to testify to a grand jury would jeopardise the safety of presidents who would in future keep agents at a distance.
The three judges, all Republican appointees, said that while respecting the views of those entrusted with guarding the President, "we must also assure ourselves that those conclusions rest upon solid facts and a realistic appraisal of the danger rather than vague fears extrapolated beyond any forseeable threat".
The Department of Justice has said it is now considering an appeal against the ruling. "We continue to be concerned that any action that could distance the Secret Service from the President increases the danger to his life and that of future presidents," the department said in a joint statement with the Secret Service.
A Secret Service spokesman has pointed out that it should not be assumed that the agents saw something improper between President Clinton and Ms Lewinsky. The agents' evidence may in fact help to clear the President of any such charges.
Meanwhile, Ms Linda Tripp who has been testifying this week before the grand jury about her conversations with Ms Lewinsky when they both worked at the Pentagon, is herself facing possible charges of illegally taping telephone calls. She recorded about 20 hours of calls between herself and Ms Lewinsky in the course of which the former White House intern claimed she was having a sexual relationship with the President.
It is illegal in Maryland to tape telephone calls without the permission of both parties but Ms Tripp claims that she did not know this when she recorded the conversations.
Ms Tripp said in a statement read by her lawyer that the announcement of an investigation into her actions "is the latest in a series of attempts to intimidate me".
Democratic politicians in Maryland where Ms Tripp lives have been urging the state prosecutor, Mr Stephen Montanarelli, to bring charges against her since the revelations about her recordings of Ms Lewinsky.