31.   But only a special counsel can determine exactly what happened, when it happened, and to what extent top people like Gore were involved personally in the abuses.

32.   But Tauzin and other Republicans acknowledged that the appointment of an independent investigator, known as a special counsel, could dramatically alter the ethics inquiry.

33.   But the extent of the mitigating evidence can vary depending on the thoroughness of the probation officer or the special counsel, defense lawyers say.

34.   But the special counsel also has the more complicated job of rendering the official, untainted record of what happened inside the government.

35.   But Wells said a special counsel would now guarantee impartiality in an environment that he said had been politicized by Justice Department leaks to the press.

36.   But under new Department of Justice regulations, the Attorney General has the power to remove special counsels and veto their actions.

37.   By law, Reno must then ask the court for appointment of a special counsel or tell the court the allegations warrant no further action.

38.   Clinton was not legally required to name a Whitewater special counsel and thereby prolong public scrutiny of his Arkansas real-estate venture, they say.

39.   Coleen Rowley, special counsel of the Minneapolis field office, also blasted that comment.

40.   Clinton declined to comment on whether Attorney General Janet Reno should agree to requests for yet another special counsel, this one to investigate Democratic fund-raising.