PW: B&N Escapes Starr's Subp na

Jun 15, 1998

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B&N Escapes Starr's Subp na
-- 6/15/98
In a court order written May 22 and unsealed June 5, U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson ruled that the information special prosecutor Kenneth Starr was seeking from Barnes &Noble about materials Monica Lewinsky bought at that store were irrelevant to Starr's investigation. According to Johnson's ruling, "the court finds that none of the material submitted by Barnes &Noble falls within the zone of compelling interest."
B&N and the Washington independent bookstore Kramerbooks &afterwords had both been subp naed by Starr in an attempt to ascertain what Lewinsky purchased at the stores since Nov. 1, 1995. After Judge Johnson limited the scope of the subp nas, the two stores turned their records over to her. A review of the documents by the judge determined that there was nothing in the B&N files that was relevant to Starr's investigation. It has been reported that Starr is trying to determine if Lewinsky bought a copy of Nicholson Baker's 1993 novel Vox.

The ruling excluding B&N has no effect on Judge Johnson's order that Kramerbooks must comply with the narrowed subp na. Kramerbooks is still appealing the decision.
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A version of this article appeared in the 06/15/1998 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline: