CLINTONCARE: Administration Cleared in Panel Privacy Flap

      A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Clinton administration and a former aide will not be held responsible for a $285,864 penalty resulting from a "dishonest explanation" of the composition of Hillary Clinton's ill-fated health care task force. Tuesday's decision overturns a 1997 ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth in favor of three not-for-profit medical and legal advocacy groups that found White House aide Ira Magaziner's description of the task force membership in "bad faith" and assigned Magaziner responsibility for the plaintiff's legal fees. In a 1993 affidavit, Magaziner said that a task force advisory group was comprised of "only federal government employees," which provided a legal basis for closing the group's records to the public. The appeals court panel found the district court's decision was reached "without clear and convincing evidentiary support." The case has been returned to the district court for Judge Lamberth's review (AP/Washington Post, 8/25).