Capital Scene

Is the Net Closing In? Part I

TWO years of media hibernation on Whitewater began to end this month. The catalyst was the White House’s taking the extraordinary step of asserting “executive privilege” in refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for notes on a Whitewater meeting. Press secretaries for Whitewater committees on the Hill reported a dramatic surge in media interest and requests for briefings. “The White House is now seen by the media as using the same defense Richard Nixon did twenty years ago, and that piques their interest,” one press secretary told us. “The year 1996 will see a lot of attention on Whitewater.”

About the Author

John Fund

John Fund is National Review’s national-affairs reporter.

Is the Net Closing In? Part I

TWO years of media hibernation on Whitewater began to end this month. The catalyst was the White House’s taking the extraordinary step of asserting “executive privilege” in refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena for notes on a Whitewater meeting. Press secretaries for Whitewater committees on the Hill reported a dramatic surge in media interest and requests for briefings. “The White House is now seen by the media as using the same defense Richard Nixon did twenty years ago, and that piques their interest,” one press secretary told us. “The year 1996 will see a lot of attention on Whitewater.”