Ray says 'pressure was applied' on deal with Clinton

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Independent Counsel Robert Ray said Sunday that "pressure was applied" to accomplish the deal that spared former President Clinton a criminal indictment in return for his admission that he gave "evasive and misleading" testimony about his sexual affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Ray defended the deal as a just conclusion to a scandal and investigation that nearly cost Clinton the presidency.

Ray noted that a grand jury had been impaneled in July 2000 to consider indicting Clinton after he left office.

"I mean, obviously, pressure was applied and it was important to apply it," Ray said. "My job is to accomplish results, and those results were accomplished as a result of a process that I put in place that I believe, ultimately, vindicated the principle that no person, including the president, is above the law."

Clinton's admission -- in the form of a written statement -- focused on his sworn testimony in an Arkansas civil suit filed by Paula Jones charging him with sexual harassment when he was governor there. In that deposition, he denied having had sex with Lewinsky and said he could not remember even being alone in the same room with her.

"Certain of my responses to questions about Ms. Lewinsky were false," Clinton said in a statement Friday, when the deal was announced.

The deal signaled an end to the long-running investigation of Clinton that had started with a probe of the controversial Whitewater land deal.

Asked if Clinton was an honorable man, Ray demurred.

"That's not for me to decide," he said. "I don't make moral judgments. That's for others. My job as a prosecutor is to make decisions with regard to the appropriateness of bringing criminal charges and to seek appropriate resolution."

Pressed on whether Clinton had escaped justice, Ray rejected that suggestion.

"Justice does not always require that a prosecutor bring a charge," he said.

Former Independent Counsel Ken Starr, who preceded Ray on the job, called the agreement "a very reasonable and sensible solution."

Speaking on CNN's Late Edition, Starr said the deal forced Clinton to "acknowledge his responsibility and a shortcoming as a witness in the system."

The former president was in Chappaqua, N.Y., with his family. He emerged from his home briefly to visit a local deli, saying he planned to spend the week catching up on sleep and getting organized.

Also appearing on Late Edition, former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta said the last two days of the Clinton presidency reflected the dichotomy of his legacy.

"President Clinton is a paradox in terms of two presidencies -- one that was very successful and yet one that obviously had this shadow," Panetta said. "In these last two days, we saw that paradox play out. He talked about all of his achievements one day, said goodbye to the nation. And then the next day, he cut a deal with the special prosecutor."