She instructed David Kendall, her lawyer, to attack her husband's political opponents as partisan enemies out to ruin her reputation. He called the panel's assessment that all but accuses Mrs Clinton of being a liar as "the politically pre-ordained verdict of a kangaroo court".

Then, in new written answers under oath to the panel, she gave them absolutely nothing to work on. The First Lady said that she was baffled at how her missing Whitewater documents turned up in the private quarters of the White House. She said she did not know how Carolyn Huber, an aide, discovered them on Jan 4 in the library.

In leaks from the committee's report that was due to be circulated late last night, Mrs Clinton was accused of organising the spiriting of Whitewater papers from the White House office of Vincent Foster, just after he was found shot in July, 1993.

Maggie Williams, her chief-of-staff, has denied removing anything, despite what the committee calls credible evidence from a secret service agent that he saw her depart carrying a pile of documents. Mrs Clinton's fingerprints have been found on the papers, but White House officials say that this would be natural as they related to her work. The First Lady also pleaded ignorance about the removal of Whitewater files from her former law office in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The panel suggests that Mrs Clinton was either aware that a shady land deal on which she worked was a sham, or kept herself ignorant

To yet another accusation that she was warned in 1986 that loan transactions she was handling could be irregular, she replied that this was entirely wrong. The claim was made last week by the chief loan officer of a savings bank who asserted that Mrs Clinton "summarily dismissed" his concern. The First Lady's lawyer rejected the official's testimony as "magical new recollection". He called the string of leaks of the report that have filled America's newspapers and television shows for two days as a gimmick. "It is a last-minute hit-and-run smear unworthy of a congressional committee engaged in a serious search for the truth."

Leaks yesterday included a conclusion that the White House had sought to "hinder, impede and control" the government's investigation of Whitewater and may have obstructed justice to protect the Clintons. The panel is also suggesting that Mrs Clinton was either aware that a shady land deal called Castle Grande on which she worked was a sham, or kept herself ignorant. In addition, the report raises new concerns about whether the Clintons properly reported their Whitewater tax liabilities.

Much of the assessment is based on circumstantial evidence and may not be enough to put Mrs Clinton in immediate jeopardy. But the danger for her is that Kenneth Starr, the Whitewater prosecutor, agrees with the Republicans that aides such as Ms Williams ought to face trial for alleged perjury. Mr Starr has gained convictions in the affair by securing plea-bargains from witnesses, most notably David Hale, a former judge, who helped to explain the chicanery involving Mr Clinton's Whitewater partners.

His whistle-blower in a new Little Rock trial of Mr Clinton's former friends is Neal Ainley, a bank president, who in return for two years' probation for concealing large cash sums from the IRS is promising to give vital "insider" evidence. Mr Starr is working his way up the ladder of power. His inquiry is said to be "very active" in the "Washington phase" of Whitewater.

The committee's findings, while disputed by the Democratic minority, may give him the leverage he needs to indict Mrs Clinton, especially if an associate or friend co-operates with him rather than risk ending up in prison.