there is no doubt that Zimbabwe’s economyrnwill finally collapse if Mugabe confiscatesrnthe property of the remainingrn3,000 white farmers.rnWlien the consequences of Mugabe’srnaction become obvious, watch out for thernmulhbillion dollar Western plan to bailrnout the Zimbabwean economy. U.S. taxpayers,rnamong others, will have to proprnMugabe up after the remaining whiternfarmers have been killed, robbed, andrnkicked out. Of course, we’ll be told thatrnforeign aid makes the world safer andrnmore stable. But by now we are inured tornlies, and many a liberal voice will murmurrnthat the white farmers “had it coming.rn-Srdja TrifkovicrnT H E CLINTON SCANDALS continuernto gurgle below the surface ofrnAmerican politics and law, occasionallyrnthrowing up a polluted geyser. KennethrnStarr’s successor as independent counsel,rnRobert Ray, is still considering indictingrnthe President when he leaves office; disbarmentrnproceedings are under wayrnagainst Mr. Clinton in his home state ofrnArkansas; and Linda Tripp, nemesis ofrnMr. Clinton and his paramour. MissrnLewinsky, is still enmeshed in Marylandrncriminal proceedings.rnMrs. Tripp is the only major player inrnthe Lewinsky imbroglio yet to find herselfrnunder criminal prosecution. A Democraticrnprosecutor in Maryland had her indictedrnby a grand jury for violating Mar)’-rnland’s anti-wiretap statute, which, on itsrnface, prohibits the interception of telephonerncommunications unless both partiesrnto the conversation give permission.rnMiss Lewinsky never gave Mrs. Tripprnpermission to record their chats, and itrnappears that, at some time in late Novemberrnor early December 1998, Mrs. Tripprnbecame aware that taping conversationsrnwithout permission violated Marylandrnlaw. The indictment refers only to therntaping of one conversation, on Decemberrn22, 1998, at a time when she wouldrnhave possessed the requisite criminal intentrnto violate the statute.rnSome months ago (Cultural Revolutions,rnOctober 1999), I predicted that therncase would soon be dismissed or withdrawn.rnFirst of all, it seemed clear thatrnthe Maryland statute was designed to protectrninnocent Mar}’landers, not a residentrnof the District of Columbia (such as MissrnLewinsky) who was trying to enmesh arncitizen of Maryland (Mrs. Tripp) in therncommission of a felony (obstructing justicernin the Paula Jones case). Second, itrnseemed that the obvious political motivesrnof the prosecution would prove too embarrassingrneven for an ambitious Marylandrndistrict attorney. What goes on inrnour courts, however, is now more unpredictablernthan college sports or the stockrnmarket. The Marvland prosecutors stuckrnto their case, and Tripp’s attorneys filed arnbattery of motions to try to get the indictmentrndismissed or witnesses barred fromrntestif)’ing.rnOn May 5, Mar)’land trial judge DianernLeisure denied the motion to dismiss thernindictment. This was the chief fact thatrnappeared in the headlines, but a closerrnlook at some of the early articles and thernjudge’s 42-page decision tells a differentrnstory. It turns out that the judge hadrngranted defense motions to bar most ofrnthe testimony of Miss Lewinsky and onernof Mrs. Tripp’s neighbors, apparently thernonly two witnesses who are capable ofrndating the December conversation afterrnthe time when Mrs. Tripp had learnedrnthat taping without consent was impermissible.rnJudge Leisure found that thesernwitnesses had derived their knowledge ofrnthe matter from Ken Starr’s investigation,rnand since Starr had granted Tripp immunityrnfrom federal prosecution, federalrnand state law prevented material from hisrninvestigation from serving as a basis forrnconviction in a state trial.rnJudge Leisure’s comments about MissrnLewinsky and about the Maryland prosecutorsrnwere unusually caustic. “Thernfact that Ms. Lewinsky admitted that shernlied under oath in a federal proceedingrnand has stated that lying has been a partrnof her life,” noted the judge, “does notrnenhance her credibility as a witness.”rnWith exquisite judicial understatement,rnshe observed that “The evidence alsornsupports a finding that [Miss Lewinsky’s]rntestimony was shaped to meet the needsrnof the State.” Judge Leisure declined torndismiss the indictment because it didrncharge a crime (in judicial parlance, itrnwas “valid on its face”), but she made norneffort to conceal her view that the prosecutionrnhad mismanaged the case andrnthat there was no other witness whorncould supply an untainted dating of therntape mentioned in the indiebnent.rnJudge Leisure threw the prosecution arntiny bone by holding that it was still permissiblernfor Miss Lewinsky to testif}’ thatrnshe never gave permission for the tapings,rnbut Stephen Montanarelli, the Mar)’landrnprosecutor, admitted that he now had arn”major problem” that was a “tremendousrnhurdle” to overcome. One of Mrs.rnTripp’s attorneys, Stephen M. Kohn,rnwent further and stated that JudgernLeisure’s rulings were “devastating to thernprosecution.” The smart money was bettingrnthat the Maryland prosecutors wouldrnnow decide to drop the case, since theyrnhad none to speak of. Your correspondent,rnthough, having once been burned,rnis now twice shy. The most astute commentrnon Judge Leisure’s ruling was probablyrnMrs. Tripp’s: “The decision to indictrnme was politically motivated and wrong.rnThis case was prosecuted solely because Irnblew the whistie on President Clinton’srnattempt to fix a court case. Given therncourt’s ruling today, any action by thernprosecution short of dismissal will constituternmalicious prosecution.”rn— Stephen B. PresserrnO B I T E R DICTA: The Rockford Institute’srnfirst Italian conference, on thernshores of beautiful Lake Como, was arnstunning success; in fact, it was so well attendedrnthat we had to turn people away.rnThose who missed it, however, shouldrnnot lose hope. You can start the real newrnmillennium in the Eternal Cit}’, while attendingrna verv exclusive conference onrnhow the Romans lost their liberty fourrntimes, and what their experience meansrnfor America’s future. Spend four nightsrnat an elegant hotel in the heart of the RomanrnF’orum, with daily tours of the cit}”srnattractions. For those who crave the sunlight,rnthere will be an optional threenightrnfollow-up trip to Naples. For detailsrn(including dates and pricing), pleaserncall Aaron Wolf at (815) 964-5811. Reservationsrnare limited; please make yourrnplans early.rnOur poetry this month is provided byrnRobert Beum, who resides in Saskatoon,rnSaskatchewan. Dr. Beum’s poems andrnessays have appeared in the Sewanee Review,rnNational Review, the ChristianrnCentury, Prairie Schooner, and the SouthwestrnReview, among others. His most recentrnbooks are Classic European ShortrnStories and Modem British Essayists.rnOur art this month is provided by ourrnart director, H. Ward Sterett of Roscoe,rnIllinois. Mr. Sterett received his B.F.A.rnfrom the University of Colorado and hisrnM.F.A. from Northern Illinois University,rnand attended the L’Abri Fellowship,rnwhere he studied the effect of Christianityrnon art. He currentiy works as a sculptor,rnpainter, and printmaker in Roscoe.rnJULY 2000/9rnrnrn