Jan. 28, 1998 There are parallels between Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigation of the scandals swirling around President Clinton and the Salem witch trials, according to UO historian Elizabeth Reis. "I wouldn't want to overstate the case, but there are striking similarities," she says. Reis is the author of a book on the witch trials, "Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England." Reis says Starr is going after Clinton not because of who he is, but because of his political position. In the Salem witch trials, the accused were mostly women, who were vulnerable because of their place in society. The accused women were faced with "proving" they weren't witches--or sullying their reputation by admitting they were. Clinton is in a similar position. "No matter how vigorously he denies these charges, most people are going to harbor suspicions, and those who have something against him will go to any length to prove the case against him. If they can do it using Monica Lewinsky, they will. If not, they'll find some other evidence to use against him because they want to see him brought down," Reis says. Clinton, however, is in a much stronger position than the Salem women who were accused of witchcraft. "I don't know what would happen if Clinton confessed, but my guess is that the American public would forgive and forget. I think one of the legacies of the Puritans is that we like confession. We want to see people publicly admit wrongdoing and get on with their redemption," Reis concludes. SOURCE: Elizabeth Reis, UO assistant professor of history, (541) 346-5904; E-mail, <lzreis@darkwing.uoregon.edu> LAW PROFESSOR SAYS WHITEWATER PROSECUTOR HAS GONE TOO FAR Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's goal is transparent--he's out to get President Bill Clinton and he's compromised his office in the process, says University of Oregon Law Professor Garrett Epps. "It's important to remember that Starr's current probe into Clinton's alleged sexual misconduct is very far afield from the Whitewater land partnership that originally sparked his investigation, five years and $40 million ago," says Epps. "It is quite clear that Starr has coordinated his investigation with the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit in an attempt to trip up the president or people near him. He has expanded his mandate in ways that are inappropriate." Epps characterizes as "shocking and tragic" Starr's order to secretly tape former White House intern Monica Lewinsky as she allegedly said Clinton urged her to deny under oath their sexual relationship. Epps says the Ethics in Government Act, in which Congress created the Independent Counsel Division subsequent to the Nixon Watergate scandal, was originally designed as a means to investigate credible allegations concerning the official conduct of the president or a limited number of high-ranking government officials. "It was not intended as a mechanism to `nail' high-ranking officials, but to create a means of investigating alleged official wrongdoing in a way that would produce a result in which the public would have confidence," says Epps. "Starr seems to be willing to investigate claims made by anyone with a partisan ax to grind about the president, regardless of their credibility. He has crossed an ethical line, disgraced his position and compromised the ability of the special division to work as its drafters intended." Epps speculates that the Ethics in Government Act will be the subject of much debate when it comes before Congress for renewal in 1999. SOURCE: Garrett Epps, associate professor, UO School of Law, (541)346-1578; E-mail, gepps@law.uoregon.edu. THE PRESS, THE PRESIDENT AND THE INTERN--NEWS FIT TO PRINT? Whether it's the press, the princess and the paparazzi; the press, the president and the intern; or the press, the trial and O.J.; one of the biggest issues facing the public involves not the news itself but how it is reported. According to University of Oregon journalism professor Al Stavitsky, our notions of what news is and how it should be delivered are changing. Recent media coverage of big issues such as Princess Di's life and death or the president's alleged affair with a White House intern clearly illustrate just how far the media have traveled from that original slogan still sitting on top of the New York Times, "All the news that's fit to print." "What constitutes news, and the way journalists report big stories, has been in flux," notes Stavitsky, "and this has implications for our democratic society." Stavitsky will discuss the changing nature of news and what that bodes for America in his Chautauqua talk, "The Press, the Princess and the Paparazzi," at 2 p.m., Jan. 29, at the Willamalane Senior Adult Activity Center, 215 West C St., Springfield. SOURCE: Al Stavitsky, associate professor of journalism and associate dean, UO School of Journalism and Communication, (541) 346-5848; E-mail, ags@oregon.uoregon.edu, or Chautauqua Series, Willamalane Senior Adult Activity Center, (541) 726-4361 -30- #T-6052/DAY, NB,NM,NN,NW