Hillary grilled on Whitewater

WASHINGTON, April 26: First Lady Hillary Clinton was questioned under oath for five hours on Saturday by members of the special counsel inve...

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WASHINGTON, April 26: First Lady Hillary Clinton was questioned under oath for five hours on Saturday by members of the special counsel investigating the Whitewater real-estate affair, the White House said.

The testimonay came as a May 7 deadline approached on prosecutors investigating the Arkansas phase of the Whitewater affair.

A statement by White House lawyer Charles Ruff said the videotaped interview was conducted by independent counsel Kenneth Starr and his staff at the White House.

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The testimony may be presented to a grand jury in Little Rock, Arkansas, investigating the Whitewater matter, the statement said. The Whitewater case — a failed real-estate deal that dates back to the 1970s — was the first matter investigated by the special counsel’s office.

Starr later expanded his investigation into other matters, including the sex-and-lies probe that could involve possible obstruction of justice charges.

But in Arkansas, reports have said Starr is preparing to indict Hillary Clinton’s formerlaw partner, Webster Hubbell on tax evasion charges. Starr has until May 7 to either complete the Arkansas phase of his investigation or ask a judge to seat another grand jury.

Hillary had previously testified five times on other matters under investigation.

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The latest interview concerned her law firm in Arkansas and its representation of the now-defunct Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan and Hillary Clinton’s “relationship with related individuals”, the statement said without elaborating.

At issue is whether the Clintons tried to cover up a criminal conspiracy involving real-estate deals in Arkansas.

Key figures in the case are the late James McDougal and his ex-wife Susan, who owned Madison Guaranty and who tried to use the land deal as a way of shoring up their ailing thrift.

The transaction and its related deals since have resulted in fraud convictions against the McDougals, former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker and a former local judge, David Hale.