Clintons Relaxing at Wiborg's Beach House (Maybe)
By Kate Maier

(6/13/2008)    Despite the fact that a drawn-out and ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic presidential ticket has left Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton millions of dollars in the red, this week's reported trip to East Hampton Village was not a fund-raising expedition.

Morgan McGivern A nondescript truck with a satellite dish on top has been parked at Wiborg's Beach in East Hampton Village for several days, related perhaps to a reported visit by Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton to a nearby house.

    After officially pulling out of the race and endorsing Senator Barack Obama on June 7, it appears that Senator Clinton, along with former President Bill Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea, have sequestered themselves at the oceanfront manse of Thomas H. Lee, a billionaire investor and friend of the Clintons, according to a Democratic Committee source.

    Although senators' whereabouts are generally a matter of public record, a representative of Mrs. Clinton's Albany office said on Friday, "we're not sure where she is." When asked if the senator was on a private vacation, she replied, "We cannot comment on that issue."

    In the parking lot of Wiborg's Beach on Thursday, an unmarked white box truck equipped with a satellite dish sat parked amidst a slew of not-so-beach ready persons, presumably reporters, who chatted through the windows of running cars as they waited for a peek at the senator and her family.

    But unlike more recent trips to the South Fork, where paparazzi had their fill of photo opportunities and Mr. Clinton had his fill of grub at some of his favorite East Hampton eateries between fundraising events, the Clintons seem not to have ventured beyond the gates of Mr. Lee's manicured grounds.

Morgan McGivern A neighbor walked past an official vehicle near Wiborg's Beach on Friday.

    Laura Donnelly, a neighbor of Mr. Lee and a food writer for The East Hampton Star, said that for days, Secret Service agents have been lurking about the street, along with the white satellite truck.

    "The police have been sort of coming and going in the driveway," she said, and two security detail cars, including a car with New Hampshire plates, have been ever-present.

    On Wednesday, Ms. Donnelly said she was accosted with flashlight beams while walking Kuso, her schnauzer-poodle mix, on the street at midnight.

     Barbara Layton, who owns Babette's on Newtown Lane, where Mr. Clinton has been known to stop while in town, only offered a pursed-lip smile and drew her hand across her mouth in a zipper motion when questioned about the Clintons.

    At Turtle Crossing, where Mr. Clinton favored the barbecue during previous visits, an employee said, "They haven't been in. Yet."

    East Hampton Village Police Captain Mike Tracey said that he wasn't able to discuss the Clintons with reporters -- or even with his wife, for that matter --but that he "may be able to share more" by next week.