Firm’s Lawyers Must Testify in E-Mail Case

A federal judge has ordered lawyers for a White House computer contractor to testify about allegations that Clinton administration officials threatened and intimidated computer technicians repairing a defective White House e-mail system. Northrop Grumman Corp. lawyers claimed that attorney-client privilege shielded its attorneys from testifying about the matter in a lawsuit brought by the conservative group Judicial Watch. Because of the 1998 problem, the e-mails were not reviewed by White House lawyers in the investigation of such cases as the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal and Whitewater.