Mistrial Is Declared in Steele Case

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A deadlocked jury forced a mistrial Friday in the obstruction case against a Virginia woman accused of covering up an alleged “groping” by President Clinton at the White House, dealing independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr his second setback in a month.

Although prosecutors must now decide whether to seek a retrial of Julie Hiatt Steele, the 52-year-old defendant was already declaring victory after the jury deliberated for nearly 10 hours without reaching a verdict.

She said the mistrial was cause for both celebration and relief. “I hope this is the last picture I ever have taken of me in front of a courthouse,” said a smiling Steele as she left U.S. District Court here with her lawyer.

In a case pitting her against onetime confidant Kathleen Willey in a battle to determine who was lying, Steele was accused of hiding her knowledge about Clinton’s alleged groping of Willey at the Oval Office in 1993.

Steele told a Newsweek reporter in 1997 that an upset Willey confided the episode to her immediately after it happened. But Steele recanted her remarks later in sworn testimony, saying she knew nothing about the incident and that Willey had asked her to lie to corroborate the account.

Steele faced up to 35 years in prison if convicted on three counts of obstruction of justice and one count of giving a false statement. Steele is the only person indicted in connection with the Monica S. Lewinsky investigation, which led Starr’s office to probe allegations of sexual misconduct against Clinton involving Willey and others.

Jurors began their deliberations Thursday and told U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton early Friday afternoon that they were “hopelessly deadlocked” on all four counts. The judge sent them back to the jury room to try again, but after two more hours they returned without a decision. “Any further deliberations will not change the outcome,” a final note from the jury read. Hilton then declared a mistrial.

The jurors agreed not to elaborate on their deliberations publicly, said foreman Jack Hawxhurst. “The comment is we have no comment,” he said.

The mistrial came less than a month after Starr’s prosecutors failed to gain a conviction in another well-publicized case charging obstruction of their investigation. On April 16, an Arkansas jury acquitted Whitewater figure Susan McDougal of obstruction and deadlocked on contempt charges that grew out of her refusal to testify before a grand jury.

Steele testified at McDougal’s trial and sent McDougal a bouquet of flowers at her victory party in Little Rock, Ark.

Both women portrayed themselves as victims of Starr’s intimidating tactics. In an image used repeatedly at Steele’s trial this week, defense attorney Nancy Luque said Steele was a hapless bystander who got in the way of Starr’s “runaway train.”

“Mr. Starr has again been deprived of a clear victory,” George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said.

A retrial carries risks for Starr, Turley said. If he decides to retry Steele or McDougal--without ultimately prosecuting Clinton himself--he risks the perception that he is “shooting the wounded and pursuing the lame,” Turley said.

Prosecutors would not discuss the case because they said the matter is pending.

During three days of testimony, Starr’s prosecutors said that Steele was driven by money and publicity. After the Willey story broke, prosecutors said Steele cashed in by selling a photograph of Willey and Clinton to tabloids and other publications for more than $15,000.

Several prosecution witnesses challenged Steele’s account and said she told them about the Willey episode earlier than 1997.

The defense did not call a single witness in the case, hoping instead that their hard-hitting cross-examination of Willey, which highlighted her repeated inconsistencies and lapses in memory, would sway the jury.

Luque told the jury that “it was Ms. Willey who betrayed Ms. Steele, and it was the independent counsel, Mr. Starr, who betrayed the rule of law.”

For her part, Willey said she hopes Starr puts her ex-friend Steele on trial again.

“A great injustice has been done today,” Willey said in an interview. “She faced overwhelming evidence, and I just think it’s an outrage.”