Copyright © 1996 The Telegraph plc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduced with permission.
World News Electronic Telegraph
Wednesday May 1 1996
Issue 374

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Clintons take fight to Whitewater prosecutor
By Stephen Robinson in Washington

External Links

The Whitewater Scandal


The Whitewater Witch-hunt home page


FRIENDS of President Clinton and his wife are mounting a public relations onslaught against Kenneth Starr, the Whitewater independent prosecutor, who may soon be ready to bring criminal charges against Hillary Clinton.

With opinion polls showing Mr Clinton 20 points ahead of Senator Robert Dole for the November election, Democrats believe only a Whitewater legal eruption could rob them of victory.

For most of the past 20 months, as Mr Starr has combed through the documents relating to the Clintons' investments of the 1980s, administration officials have expressed confidence in his impartiality.

But the relaxed White House tone has changed markedly in recent days, with administration officials volunteering their view that Mr Starr is biased against the Clintons and motivated by his own political ambitions.

Staff who in the past have been reluctant to answer the most innocuous Whitewater question now volunteer to fax reporters statements and cuttings showing why Mrs Clinton has nothing to fear.

Republicans suspect the White House has changed tactics because Mr Starr might have uncovered something serious against her. A senior member of Mr Starr's investigation recently said the odds that Mrs Clinton would be indicted sooner or later were "at least 50-50".

Mr Clinton last week questioned Mr Starr's independence and said his ties to groups hostile to the Democrats were "plain for all to see". Jack Quinn, the White House legal counsel, took up the theme, expressing concern about Mr Starr's "fairness and independence".

Mr Starr's defenders describe the White House's new tactics as a pre-emptive strike to destroy his credibility in case Mr and Mrs Clinton are indicted on charges related to Whitewater.

Blood Sport, a recent book by James Stewart, raised the possibility that the First Lady might have committed banking fraud in Whitewater dealings

Mr Starr has already brought charges against several of the Clintons' former associates. Jim and Susan McDougal, their partners in the original Whitewater land deal, are on trial in Arkansas for fraud. Webster Hubbell, a former partner in the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock with Mrs Clinton, is in prison for overcharging clients.

Now the White House, and Mrs Clinton in particular, seem to be the focus of the investigation. Blood Sport, a recent book by James Stewart, raised the possibility that the First Lady might have committed banking fraud in Whitewater dealings.

The second potential troublespot is the suspicion that she or her staff obstructed justice by suppressing subpoenaed Whitewater documents.

This week's revelation that the FBI, at Mr Starr's behest, dusted the documents and found Mrs Clinton's fingerprints on them shows he means business.

Two of Mrs Clinton's confidantes, her chief of staff Maggie Williams and close friend Susan Thomases, have been summoned back before the grand jury for yet more questions about the handling of the documents.

Clearly, criminal charges being brought against the wife of a sitting president would cause a sensation and inevitably have an extraordinary effect on the election campaign. Hence, Republicans say, the need for the White House to stress Mr Starr's political ties.

Mr Starr has never concealed his Republican sympathies, or that he once seriously considered running for a Virginia Senate seat. He served as solicitor general to President Bush and is well connected in the world of Republican politics.

This was well known when Mr Starr was appointed to his politically-sensitive job, but the White House maintained then that it would abide by his findings.

More recently, administration officials have cited Mr Starr's legal work for tobacco firms locked in litigation with the Clinton administration as further evidence of his unsuitability for the task.

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