WASHINGTON. Sept 8: President Bill Clinton's private lawyer. David Kendall, asked independent counsel Kenneth Starr on Monday to let him review any report Starr prepares about possible impeachable offences before it goes to Congress, reports Reuters.

In a four-page letter to Starr and his deputy. Robert Bittman. Kendall said "fundamental fairness" required that he and his client be able to review any such report and formulate a response that could be sent simultaneously to Congress.

He also reminded Starr that federal law required him to advise the house of representatives only of any "substantial and credible information ... that may constitute grounds for an impeachment," not to submit a full-blown report.

Starr's staff has been working through the Labor Day holiday weekend, trying to finish an impeachment report against Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky sex-and-perjury investiga-

tion.

Clinton last month admitted to having had an affair with Lewinsky but denied he had ever told anyone to lie about it.

Legal sources close to the investigation said Starr was expected in the report to outline possible impeachable offences of perjury, obstruction of justice. encouraging a witness to lie and abusing the power of the office of the president.

"Nothing in that statute authorises your office to prepare a report "to the house that purpots to summarise and analyse evidence," Kendall wrote in the letter.

"If the Office of the Independent Counsel (OIC) does decide to transmit to the House of Representatives not merely the "Information" It has gathered but some from of "report" or summary ... we believe that fundamental fairness dictates that we have the opportunity to review such a document and submit simultaneously any reply we wish to make,'" Kendall wrote.