Clintons, Clintonites Search for Legal Fees

WASHINGTON – Monica Lewinsky, Vernon Jordan and others ensnared in various White House independent counsel investigations have joined former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in seeking taxpayer reimbursement for their legal bills.

The bills could total up to $7.8 million, according to a report in Wednesday's editions of the New York Post. The figures were revealed in court papers unsealed by a special federal appeals court in Washington.

Twenty-seven people involved in various Clinton-related investigations -- some of them minor players -- have sought reimbursement of their legal expenses, the Post reported. The independent counsel law allows for such reimbursement as long as the probe did not result in the applicant's indictment.

The newly unsealed filings reveal that ex-intern Lewinsky wants $1.2 million and Clinton pal Jordan has applied for $303,000, according to the newspaper. Both were caught up in independent counsel Kenneth Starr's perjury investigation against President Clinton.

Through their lawyer David Kendall, the Clintons said last month they were seeking taxpayer reimbursement for legal bills stemming from the Whitewater investigation. Kendall would not say how much they sought but a required disclosure form filed by Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., listed outstanding legal bills for the couple of between $1.75 million and $6.5 million. The forms only require disclosure in broad ranges and it was also unknown which of the remaining bills date back to Whitewater, the Clintons' failed Arkansas land deal.

Under his plea deal with independent counsel Robert Ray, the former president agreed not to seek reimbursement for bills related to the Lewinsky probe.

A special three-judge panel will ultimately decide who gets how much.

If taxpayers foot the Clintons' bills it wouldn't be the first time for an ex-president. Former Presidents Reagan and Bush were reimbursed for bills related to the Iran-Contra probe.