Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Whitewater Jury Has One More Week > WASHINGTON (AP) -- Facing a final week of work, a > Whitewater grand jury in Arkansas is examining the > testimony of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton while a > separate panel in Washington focuses on the first > lady's former law partner, Webster Hubbell. > > The grand jury here is investigating possible tax > violations stemming from more than $700,000 in payments > that Hubbell received in 1994 and 1995 after his > resignation from the Justice Department. > > Many of the payments were arranged by friends of the > president and first lady. > > Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr went to the federal > courthouse in Little Rock, Ark., for 45 minutes > Wednesday where the grand jury was shown five hours of > testimony Mrs. Clinton gave by videotaped last weekend. > > Her testimony involved her work for the failed savings > and loan at the center of the probe. The grand jury in > Little Rock is scheduled to meet four days next week > before it goes out of business next Thursday. > > Mrs. Clinton declined to answer two questions in > Saturday's five-hour White House session -- > ``conversations that plainly fell under the > long-standing common law privilege for marital > communications'' -- attorney David Kendall disclosed on > Wednesday. > > Three prosecutors questioned Mrs. Clinton in the > videotaped testimony, according to lawyers familiar > with the probe. > > Deputy Whitewater prosecutor W. Hickman Ewing Jr., head > of the Little Rock office of Starr's operation, > conducted most of the questioning of Mrs. Clinton. > Other questioning was done by deputy prosecutors Robert > Bittman and Sol Wisenberg. > > Bittman has focused on allegations that there has been > obstruction of the Whitewater probe. Wisenberg has been > handling the grand jury probe in Washington of an > alleged presidential affair and cover-up involving > former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. > > Mrs. Clinton's decision to invoke the marital privilege > is the latest instance in which Whitewater prosecutors > have been unable to get answers to questions in the > investigation. Former Whitewater partner Susan McDougal > has refused to answer their questions before a grand > jury. > > The president has invoked executive privilege to > protect the confidentiality of some conversations with > top aides in the investigation involving Ms. Lewinsky. > > And the Justice and Treasury departments are seeking to > bar Starr from questioning Secret Service officers > about Clinton's relationship with Ms. Lewinsky. > > The Whitewater probe ``is a great investigation for the > law of evidence,'' said New York University law > professor Stephen Gillers. ``We've got executive > privilege, attorney-client privilege, spousal > privilege, a brand-new Secret Service persons' > privilege, and all that's left'' that hasn't been > invoked ``are clergyman's privilege, physician-patient > privilege and the privilege against > self-incrimination.'' > > Regarding conversations between Mrs. Clinton and her > husband, Starr was pressing into an area where he > should have expected to be rebuffed, said Bruce > Yannett, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer. > > ``It is pretty unusual for a prosecutor to ask a > married spouse about confidential conversations with > the other spouse and expect to get an answer,'' and ``I > don't think anyone should be particularly surprised or > offended'' by invoking the privilege, said Yannett, a > former Iran-Contra prosecutor. -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
