The court turned down a petition from special prosecutor Kenneth Starr to rule this term on whether he could force testimony to a grand jury looking into charges Clinton had an affair with intern Monica Lewinsky.

``The President is pleased,'' White House spokesman Michael McCurry said, adding: ``the court acted appropriately.''

The nine justices also rejected a similar motion on the dispute over attorney Bruce Lindsey.

``This is a technical but important legal issue,'' said McCurry, adding: ``the President is entitled that type of protection.''

McCurry also noted that the White House had told the court directly that Lindsey did not have any information on charges Clinton had sex with Lewinsky and urged her to lie about it.

The court decision means the cases cannot bypass the normal,often lengthy, appeals process and will next be taken at federal court of appeals.

Earlier on Monday, Clinton gave up a fight to keep his top aides from testifying in a tactic that could put the brakes on the sensational probe.

Clinton's attorneys decided not to fight a court ruling that forces two White House advisers to testify about charges the President had sex with Monica Lewinsky and urged her to lie about it.

Rather, the legal team will now seek to limit questioning by claiming attorney-client privilege that covers confidential legal conversations. The move is aimed at foiling last week's decision by Starr.

Starr sought to speed up his probe by taking the case straight to the Supreme Court after Clinton appealed a federal judge's ruling that he could not claim the rarely-used presidential ``executive privilege.''

Expediting the high court hearing sidesteps a lengthy appeal process and would have put the case that exploded on January 21 on a faster track.The White House ploy could forcetestimony from Clinton's two closest aides about the alleged 18-month sexual relationship with Lewinsky, who began working at the White House in 1995 when she was 21.

Clinton had invoked executive privilege to prevent deputy White House counsel Bruce Lindsey and senior communications adviser Sidney Blumenthal from testifying.

But Clinton's lawyers are now arguing that protections for attorney-client relationships should shield confidential dealings with the advisers.