By all accounts, Judge Norma Holloway Johnson was not enthusiastic about the arguments put forward by the Clinton administration last week for creating a new "Secret Service privilege" -- which would exempt the president's bodyguards from testifying to the Monica Lewinsky grand jury.
One of the exhibits in the administration's case was a letter from former president George Bush taking the administration's side in its argument against independent counsel Kenneth Starr -- which deservedly created a huge splash when it was leaked last month.
Attracting less attention was the testimony of Dan Quayle, who argued the opposite side in a letter last week to Attorney General Janet Reno, and who, in THE SCRAPBOOK's always stringent view, proves a better lawyer than Bush. Writes Quayle in part:
"Members of the Service are not merely hired personal bodyguards. They are, first and foremost, respected members of the law enforcement community. . . . There are, to be sure, legitimate concerns that agents' testimony be limited so that it is directly related to possible criminal conduct, and not spill over into matters that should be confidential. But those are restrictions and constraints that courts are well equipped to confront in other sensitive cases, and those procedures can easily be applied here.
"As a policy matter, the issue is straightforward. If a federal prosecutor has specific reason to believe that members of the Secret Service can provide evidence tending to prove (or disprove) criminal activity, there is no compelling reason to keep their testimony away from a grand jury. As a former protectee of Secret Service agents, I see no problem with the principle that they -- like all federal agents -- can be called upon to aid federal criminal investigations. Assisting the quick, effective prosecution of crime is a goal to which all public servants in the executive branch should be dedicated, regardless of who the guilty party may be."
The letter was cc'd to the director of the Secret Service, Ken Starr, and Judge Johnson. Quayle should fax a copy to his old boss, too.