The meeting, nine days after Monica was served with a subpoena demanding testimony about their affair, drew independent counsel Kenneth Starr's probe into whether Clinton persuaded her to lie about their affair in the Paula Jones law suit, The Washington Post said yesterday.

Clinton's lawyers said his presents to Lewinsky that day demonstrates that he did not instruct her to return other gifts to his secretary rather than comply with the Jones subpoena for them before she was to move to a Pentagon job in New York, the paper said quoting sources close to the investigation.

On the other hand, he did tell her she did not have to return the gifts that were not in her possession. Shortly after that, Clinton's secretary BettyCurrie turned up unannounced at her apartment saying she believed that Lewinsky may have some things to give.

The key question is whether Clinton asked Currie to go to Lewinsky and ``ask'' for them. If he has, it would amount to perjury, which is an impeachable offence under the US law.

The White House yesterday asked the US Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling ordering Deputy Counsel Bruce Lindsey to testify before the grand jury concerning conversations he had with Clinton about Lewinsky.

While Clinton and his men complain about the length of Starr's investigation, they ensure it is prolonged by raising one issue after another in the courts.