STATEMENT OF GERALD B. LEFCOURT, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS (NACDL)
Washington, DC (May 6, 1998) -- In response to the public release of monitored private telephone conversations between Webster Hubbell, his wife, his attorney, his accountant and others by Representative Dan Burton (R-IN), chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers released the following statement:
"The release of selectively-edited transcripts of Webster Hubbell's telephone conversations from prison with his wife and with his lawyer violated two sacred relationships cherished by our society: the sanctity of private conversations between man and wife and the necessary confidentiality between client and counsel. It is nothing less than revolting that private conversations, ordinarily protected by law, would be subpoenaed, and then edited and twisted to accommodate some misguided politician's ongoing vendetta against the President. Is the privacy of citizens no longer important in our society? Is there no sense of decency left anymore in what some zealots will do to grab a headline or snare a President or a First Lady?"