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Kathleen Willey Schwicker Files Lawsuit Against Clintons, White House Aides

Aired September 21, 2000 - 12:40 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, I'm going to take us now to the United States district courthouse in Washington, D.C. We have a developing story there. We have a man named Klayman who has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Kathleen Willey against the United States president, his wife, and the White House and others. Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

LARRY KLAYMAN, JUDICIAL WATCH: And look to the case of O.J. Simpson as an example where the criminal justice system failed. A lawyer came along by the name of Dan Petrocelli and brought a civil suit where O.J. Simpson was held fully accountable.

Our governmental systems have failed. There was plenty of proof to bring an indictment of the president and first lady. All you needed was proof of probable cause, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. And in a civil lawsuit, such as the lawsuit that we're bringing on behalf of Ms. Willey, the standard of proof is even lower by a preponderance of the evidence.

But it's important that you read this complaint. The complaint can be found at judicialwatch.org, the Web site -- judicialwatch.org -- because, you see, the facts set forth in this complaint, many of them have already been proven. It was in the context of Judicial Watch's Filegate class-action lawsuit that Judge Royce C. Lamberth of this district court before which I stand, where Ms. Willey Schwicker's complaint was filed, he made a finding that release of information from her government files by the president of the United States constituted a crime.

And in conjunction with that finding, we have sworn interrogatory responses. These are sworn statements from the White House itself, sworn testimony from James Carville, that the individuals named in the complaint, the president, the first lady, Mr. Carville, Mr. Blumenthal, David Kendall, Williams & Connolly, Charles Ruff, Cheryl Mills, they all participated in the illegal release of information from Ms. Willey's files as admitted by the president to harm her, to destroy her credibility.

In many ways, her case has already been proven. The case has been out there for a long time and she has come forward as a heroin not just on behalf of herself and her husband, Bill Schwicker, who's standing at her left -- a very brave gentleman who supports her -- but on behalf of the American people, because there will be justice.

Our government institutions have failed, but there is a civil court system and, as in the O.J. Simpson case, where that civil justice system failed, justice will prevail in Mrs. Willey Scwicker's case.

Now she has a brief statement to make to you. She wanted to be here personally because this matter is very important to her and to the American people.

I introduce you to Kathleen Willey Schwicker and her husband Bill Schwicker.

KATHLEEN WILLEY SCHWICKER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE VOLUNTEER: Good afternoon, thank you for coming.

Today I am suing the president, the first lady and the White House aides because of their efforts to intimidate and harass me. Before I testified in the Paula Jones case, a stranger approached me, mentioned my 13-year-old cat, who had disappeared; my tires, which had been vandalized; and asked how my children, by name were and said, you're just not getting the message.

After my testimony before Judge Stark's grand jury and my appearance on "60 Minutes," White House aide Sidney Blumenthal boasted that my reputation would be ruined in a matter of days. Shortly after that, stories began appearing in the press maligning my character; and letters which I had written to the president, asking for a job, were publicly released, violating my rights under the privacy law.

I will not sit by while those in power come down like a ton of bricks on one woman fighting alone. I will go to court to seek redress. My children have been threatened. My government files have been released. And my life's innermost secrets have been dragged through the press.

I am only one private citizen and he is the president, but that is why we have courts -- to protect people like me against abuses by people like him.

I am suing because, if I sit by passively and knuckle-under to his tactics, many more people in future years will have to knuckle- under also; but if, through this lawsuit, we can score a victory for the privacy of people who tell the truth in court, we will score a victory for freedom. Thank you.

VAN SUSTEREN: Kathleen Willey Schwicker and her lawyer Larry Klayman, who has filed a lawsuit against the president of the United States, the first lady and others, claiming that her privacy has been invaded and that she has been harassed and threatened as a result of it.

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