Lawyers for President Clinton yesterday sought to stem the flow of sordid details spilling out of the White House intern sex scandal by taking the independent investigator, Mr Kenneth Starr, to court over the leaks.
"It's now not so much a political issue as it has become a legal issue," a White House spokesman, Mr Joe Lockhart, said as Mr Clinton's lawyer prepared to take his complaint to court.
A White House lawyer, Mr David Kendall, was expected to file a complaint against Mr Starr in a federal court in Washington.
Although the complaint will be sealed, Mr Lockhart said it was likely to include a call for an investigation and possible sanctions on Mr Starr.
Mr Starr, a Republican who is investigating Whitewater and other White House affairs, is also leading the investigation into allegations that Mr Clinton had an affair with Ms Monica Lewinsky and sought to cover it up.
Mr Clinton has denied the affair but has refused to comment on the nature of his relationship with Ms Lewinsky, who began working as an intern at the White House in 1995 at the age of 21.
Mr Starr is also under attack from Ms Lewinsky's lawyer, Mr William Ginsburg, who vowed to take him to court to enforce an immunity agreement for his client.
Writing in Time magazine, Mr Ginsburg said Mr Starr reneged on a deal to give Ms Lewinsky immunity from perjury charges if she testified on her alleged sexual relationship with Mr Clinton.
Mr Ginsburg said Mr Starr's office sent him a letter of agreement on the immunity deal on February 2nd, then withdrew the offer two days later.
"So this week we plan to file a motion in court to enforce the agreement. This was a binding agreement that they sent us in writing," he wrote.
Meanwhile, CNN television reported that Ms Lewinsky was subpoenaed to appear before Mr Starr's grand jury on Thursday, and that prosecutors denied they had reached an agreement with her lawyers.
Ms Lewinsky's lawyers are expected to file a motion to quash the subpoena, CNN said yesterday, but Mr Ginsburg was not immediately available for comment.