President Clinton has returned to the White House after a four-day trip to Central America this week to survey devastation from Hurricane Mitch and promote stable democracies in a region once shattered by civil wars.
Mr Clinton has insisted that it was his wife's bad back and not a marital break-up that kept Mrs Hillary Clinton from being at his side during his visit to Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Clinton said Mrs Clinton, even in pain, probably would have joined him but she didn't want to risk "completely ruining her back for Africa". Mrs Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, are due to leave for Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco next Saturday.
The White House disputed reports that Mrs Clinton decided not to join the trip after allegedly telling a friend: "I don't want to be in the same room with him, let alone the same bed."
Meanwhile, Mr Charles Bakaly, the spokesman for the independent counsel Mr Kenneth Starr, has resigned after Mr Starr sent an internal review of a recent press leak to the Justice Department for a full inquiry.
"After having been provided with the preliminary results of an internal investigation, this office has referred the matter to the Department of Justice," Mr Starr said in a statement. He said he had accepted Mr Bakaly's resignation "with regret".
The Washington Post reported yesterday that Mr Starr had asked the Justice Department to consider criminal charges against Mr Bakaly for allegedly leaking a story to the New York Times and then lying about it to investigators. The newspaper, quoting unidentified officials, said Mr Bakaly maintained his innocence.
Mr Bakaly's lawyer, Mr Howard Shapiro, issued a statement saying his client would co-operate fully with the investigation, adding that he was confident that Mr Bakaly "will be found not to have violated any statute, regulation or court order".
In a report on January 31st, the New York Times said Mr Starr had determined that Mr Clinton could legally be indicted while still in office for perjury and obstruction of justice in trying to hide his affair with Ms Monica Lewinsky. The report cited "several associates of Mr Starr" as sources. Mr Starr's office, already under investigation by a federal judge for allegedly leaking grand jury material in the Lewinsky case, immediately launched an internal inquiry.