The White House turned over more videotapes of White House fund-raising events yesterday as the Attorney General, Ms Janet Reno, was pressed by Republicans for an independent counsel to investigate if President Clinton broke the law when raising campaign money.
Ms Reno earlier announced that she was extending a preliminary investigation by the Justice Department into President Clinton's role, but said she was not yet in a position to decide if the investigation should be turned over to an independent counsel.
Mr Clinton, who is on a tour of South America, said from Brazil that he had done nothing wrong but he was ready to co-operate with any inquiry and be questioned if necessary. It now appears that he will be questioned as part of the investigation.
Ms Reno had sharp exchanges with Republicans yesterday when she appeared before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill to answer questions about her investigation into fund-raising practices in last year's election.
The committee chairman, Mr Henry Hyde, said the Justice Department had bungled the investigation and failed to press the White House hard enough on videotapes of the President's meetings with contributors to the Democratic Party.
"We are deeply troubled by what is going on in the Department of Justice" and Ms Reno's investigation "bristles with conflicts of interest", Mr Hyde said.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll yesterday showed that 60 per cent of respondents wanted Mr Clinton's fund-raising activities investigated by independent counsel and not by the Department of Justice. Mr Hyde cited the poll when telling Ms Reno that "the average American wants an independent counsel".
But Ms Reno said that she paid "no attention whatsoever to politics or pressure". She said that when the law on appointing an independent counsel "is triggered, I will trigger it whether it is the President of the United States or the Vice-President or a cabinet member. . .I am going to do it based on the evidence and the law."
Ms Reno is now investigating both the President and the Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, on whether their telephone calls from the White House breached an 1883 law banning the soliciting of election funds from a federal building.
Legal experts differ over whether the law applies to presidents and vice-presidents, or if it applies when the people asked for money are not government employees.
Ms Reno has until December 2nd to decide whether to end the investigation for lack of evidence or to turn the matter over to an independent counsel appointed by three judges so as to avoid conflict of interest.
Meanwhile, the depositions are continuing in the case where Ms Paula Jones is suing Mr Clinton for $700,000 (£479,000) damages for alleged sexual harassment.
Ms Jones's lawyers have asked the President to answer 72 questions including whether he had sex with women other than his wife when he was Governor of Arkansas.
Ms Jones's lawyer said that they were trying to establish a pattern of conduct by Mr Clinton which was relevant to their case.