Columnist Jeff German: LV lawyer says prosecutors face uphill battle in Clinton probe

Thursday, Jan. 29, 1998 | 10:24 a.m.

PROSECUTORS will have a tough time proving President Clinton tried to cover up an alleged affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

That's the opinion of Oscar Goodman, one of the city's premier defense attorneys.

"It's going to be her word against anyone associated with this administration," says Goodman, whose career in criminal law here has spanned three decades.

His assessment comes as special prosecutor Kenneth Starr opened a grand jury investigation in Washington, D.C., this week into allegations Clinton told Lewinsky to lie about the purported affair. The president has denied any wrongdoing.

But the criminal probe continues.

Few lawyers in this country can match Goodman's experience in criminal law.

The Las Vegas attorney, who's rarely at a loss for words, has earned a national reputation representing the likes of the late Mafia kingpins, Tony Spilotro and Nick Civella. But he also has defended judges, entertainers, doctors, politicians, supreme court justices, even newsmen.

In 1986, Goodman experienced the media feeding frenzy in the nation's capital when he represented former U.S. District Judge Harry Claiborne during a well-publicized impeachment trial in the Senate.

Though Goodman believes Starr won't be able to prove a coverup, he says the special prosecutor can nail the president on the affair with Lewinsky if DNA evidence surfaces.

FBI agents working with Starr are conducting DNA tests on one of Lewinsky's dresses.

"If there's any DNA evidence on her dress, then he's history," Goodman says. "America won't tolerate that dumb of a president to make that dumb of a lie."

But without the DNA evidence, he adds, "the case is going nowhere."

State Sen. Joe Neal knows he'll have to run an innovative campaign for governor to have any chance of winning.

That's why the North Las Vegas Democrat is taking his campaign to cyberspace, where he has launched his own page on the Worldwide Web.

According to the veteran lawmaker, "Neal on the Net" will be the "great equalizer" in the governor's race.

He calls it electronic grassroots.

Neal says he already has put together a network of computer-equipped volunteers throughout Nevada.

"When crunch time comes, we will be able to mobilize people anywhere in the state with a keystroke," he says.

The senator says he even plans to raise campaign money over the Internet to tap into a national constituency that would want to "help elect the first African-American governor west of the Mississippi."

Neal will need all the help he can get.

He's likely to face well-financed Republican Kenny Guinn in the general election.

Guinn strategists left their first Republican summit in Reno Wednesday with big smiles on their faces.

About 45 party leaders and elected officials from across the state attended the 90-minute meeting.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, and Nevada GOP Chairman John Mason were among those on hand.

Guinn told the officials what they can expect to see from his campaign in the weeks ahead.

The idea of the summit was to keep the party focused on the task of electing Guinn and the Republicans to office this year.

"Everything's on the right track," says Guinn Campaign Manager Pete Ernaut. "Everybody left energized."

If you listened to Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., on the floor of the House Wednesday, you'd have no trouble identifying his political idol.

The House was debating a bill to rename Washington's National Airport in honor of former President Reagan.

Some Democrats didn't like the idea.

Gibbons, an airline pilot by profession, said it was a shame that partisan politics would "stain (Reagan's) great legacy."

He called the former Republican president "one of the most respected leaders of the 20th century."

Just to make sure his constituents knew how he felt, Gibbons issued a news release afterwards touting his remarks.

Win one for the Gipper, Jim.

Republicans claim to have a mystery woman with big bucks to run against Regent Shelley Berkley in the 1st Congressional District.

Berkley, a Democrat who has raised more than $400,000, announced her candidacy in November 1996.

Word is the mystery candidate is willing to spend $500,000 of her own money in the race.

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