Click on linked names to read about other key players, or see the full list.

Whenever President Clinton finds himself in trouble, Bruce R. Lindsey is on the job, the seemingly permanent commander-in-chief of the Clinton shovel brigade. An intense 50-year-old Arkansas lawyer, Lindsey is Clinton's most trusted aide and serves as the invisible "captain of the defense" for the crisis of the moment, as one former White House colleague put it.

Lindsey has been pivotal in planning Clinton's defense against accusations related to Whitewater, campaign finance, Paula Jones and now Monica Lewinsky .

When Lindsey was subpoenaed by Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr to testify before a grand jury investigating the Lewinsky matter, he answered some of the questions put to him. But Lindsey refused to answer questions about conversations he had with Clinton. White House lawyers backed up his refusal by invoking executive privilege and attorney-client privilege, leading to a protracted legal fight with Starr.

After a judge ruled against the White House and ordered Lindsey (and his colleague Sidney Blumenthal) to testify, the White House dropped the executive privilege claim but decided to pursue the attorney-client privilege claim on appeal.

• Jordan, Lindsey Tried to Stem Brewing Scandal (Oct. 3, 1998)
• Court Rejects Privilege Claim (July 28, 1998)
• Clinton Shifts Strategy to Attorney-Client Issue (June 2, 1998)
• Clinton's Problems Test Advisers' Loyalty (Feb. 22, 1998)
• Clinton's 'Captain of the Defense' (Feb. 5, 1998)

(Updated October 5, 1998)