POTS AND KETTLES: Lawrence E. Walsh, the...

POTS AND KETTLES: Lawrence E. Walsh, the independent counsel who investigated the Iran-Contra scandal during (and after) the Reagan administration, has lashed out in writing at his highest-profile successor, Kenneth W. Starr. Walsh writes in the New York Review of Books that Starr vastly overstepped his mandate--the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas--by delving into President Clinton’s private life. By rigging Linda Tripp with a hidden microphone, Walsh says, Starr ensnared Monica S. Lewinsky before the federal court that determines the jurisdiction of the independent counsel gave him authority to do so. Walsh’s own seven-year inquiry into Iran-Contra, which was widely criticized for its duration and cost, ended only when it was aborted by presidential pardons.

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SENATOR SCUD? At a recent morning chat with reporters, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) was asked if any senators might be interested in taking up Saddam Hussein’s invitation to members of Congress to visit Iraq and see the situation for themselves. “Well, I don’t know,” Daschle replied. “You know, you can send congressmen or cruise missiles, I suppose, but I--.” A reporter interrupted, “Is there a difference?” To much laughter, Daschle explained, “Well, the cruise missiles are the smart weapons.” To even more laughter--and without a straight face--Daschle added: “No, I don’t mean that. . . . “

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EXTORTION R US: Frustrated that dozens of overseas witnesses have not cooperated with his campaign fund-raising probe, Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) has decided to play hardball. He and Rep. Mark E. Souder (R-Ind.) have introduced legislation to hold up billions of dollars in International Monetary Fund outlays unless some financially strapped Asian nations start helping out. At the top of the list are Indonesia and Thailand--where such prominent fund-raising figures as Pauline Kanchanalak and James Riady are based.

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E-MAIL TRAIL: Whitewater etc. independent counsel Starr is seeking e-mail sent by Lewinsky, right? Well, the Internetniks who run one Web site have uncovered a piece of Lewinsky computer traffic from Nov. 18, 1997--long before she was America’s best-known former intern. Responding to one of those ubiquitous junk e-mails--titled “Resume Mistakes,” with gems like “Proven ability to track down and correct erors”--Lewinsky wrote to friend Josh Gross: “That’s hilarious. How are you, Josh? What’s going on in your life.” The tidbit has been recirculated on the ‘Net under the title, “Six Degrees of Monica.”

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MONICA KITSCH: Scandals may cause headaches for some but they can bring big bucks to entrepreneurs who capitalize on them. Mike Slaughter of Denver was drinking beer with some friends recently when the idea for a potentially profitable product came to him--presidential knee pads. It was Lewinsky who, according to her former love interest Andy Bleiler, coined the term to refer to the type of sex she said she was having with a high-ranking White House official. Slaughter, an unemployed designer, is now selling knee pads affixed with a humorous version of the presidential seal for $9.95 a pair--and advertising them in such sure-fire venues as the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. His customers include people of all political stripes. “Some of them are lifelong Democrats and liberals who want two pair,” Slaughter said. “I’m not really political myself. I think the whole thing is funny.” If the knee pads sell, watch out. Slaughter says that posters, postcards and coffee mugs may be next.