Whether or not this assault by the congressional GOP is influencing the voters is anybody’s guess. The real action, as both sides know, lies with independent counsel Kenneth Starr, who has been quietly investigating the Whitewater affair for a year. Like any prosecutor, Starr and his staff have the legal authority to bring criminal charges. They have already sent Webster Hubbell, one of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s oldest friends, to jail, and they have indicted Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker for fraud and conspiracy. Starr’s probe will be the final word on whether Whitewater becomes a danger to Clinton’s chances for re-election–or whether, as many Democrats believe, it is much ado about nothing much.
NEWSWEEK has learned that Starr is pushing to make all the key decisions in his $11 million investigation within the next few weeks-possibly as early as Labor Day. The main reason is that the 1996 campaign is now very close at hand. Even though Starr himself is a Republican, allowing a criminal investigation to continue during the coming presidential campaign would open him to charges of letting politics cloud his judgment. “Ken is very conscious that he doesn’t want this to drag on into the presidential election,” says one source close to the investigation.
James McDougal, the Arkansas S&L operator who was the Clintons’ business partner in Whitewater, remains a possible target-although he has already been tried and acquitted on charges stemming from the collapse of his thrift. Starr has also been looking into ‘allegations that McDougal’s bank illegally contributed funds to Clinton’s 1984 gubernatorial campaign. But lawyers familiar with the case say it now seems unlikely that Starr will bring charges based on most of the issues raised in last week’s hearings. These issues include claims of favorable treatment for McDougal while Clinton was governor and questions about Hillary Clinton’s efforts to represent McDougal before the state government while she was a partner in the Rose Law Firm. Though politically embarrassing, these actions probably don’t add up to a criminal case, the sources say.
So everyone in Washington will be waiting for Starr’s findings. But even if he finds no cause for indictment, Whitewater has already cost the Clintons dearly. Figures released last week showed that contributions to their defense fund seem to be tailing off–and the First Couple now faces $1.6 million in unpaid legal bills.
