Independent counsel wants to meet with Monica Lewinsky

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An attorney for former White House intern Monica Lewinsky said Monday he has been contacted by the office of Independent Counsel Robert Ray, asking that Lewinsky meet with Ray in the coming weeks.

Ray is investigating whether President Clinton should face criminal charges after he leaves office in January for allegedly lying to a grand jury about his relationship with Lewinsky.

Independent Counsel Robert Ray

Ray, who succeeded Ken Starr as independent counsel in the case, convened a new grand jury in recent months, which would be expected to hear testimony from Lewinsky if she becomes a formal witness.

Attorney Plato Cacheris told CNN's Judy Woodruff he is "negotiating" a date with the independent counsel's office for Lewinsky to come in for a meeting.

On Friday, Ray's deputy, Keith Ausbrook, told CNN that the Office of Independent Counsel is taking all the normal steps in an investigation of this sort, with an eye toward resolving the matter after the president leaves office.

Informed sources tell CNN's Woodruff that Ray's office has started contacting potential witnesses to appear before a sitting grand jury. Sources say any witness list would certainly include Lewinsky herself.

Ray has told CNN in the past that a decision whether to prosecute Clinton for his conduct in the Lewinsky scandal would come "very shortly" after the president's term ends Jan. 20. The legal questions are whether Clinton committed perjury or obstructed justice when he denied having an affair with Lewinsky in sworn testimony in the Paula Jones case.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate, which fell 12 votes short of convicting him on a perjury charge and 17 votes short of conviction on a charge of obstructing justice.