Probe Of Whitewater To Last Beyond Election Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr Opposes Time-Limit On Case

Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr suggested Saturday that his investigation may last beyond Election Day.

Starr, speaking at the annual meeting of the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors, said Justice Department policies prevented his talking specifically about pending cases. He prefaced many of his remarks by saying they were offered only in hypothetical terms.

When asked whether he saw a hypothetical special investigation based in Little Rock lasting beyond the Nov. 5 presidential election, Starr said “Yes.”

The remark was an obvious reference to his investigation into the Whitewater land development in northern Arkansas.

James and Susan McDougal, former Whitewater real estate partners of President Clinton and his wife, and Gov. Jim Guy Tucker are on trial on charges of arranging nearly $3 million in fraudulent loans through David Hale’s company and through Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan.

The McDougals owned the savings and loan until it collapsed in 1989 at a cost to taxpayers of $65 million.

The Clinton-McDougal partnership is at the heart of Starr’s investigation, though it is not directly related to the current trial. The Clintons have not been charged with any crimes. Starr said such an investigation cannot be restricted by a deadline.

“When you have a conspiracy that is characterized by silence, the key is getting inside. You can’t put an arbitrary limit on that,” he said.

He said any attempt at limiting prosecutors would have to consider “the ability of the investigation to find the truth.”

“Gee, and I’m speaking in the hypothetical, we’re just getting documents for subpoenas we submitted 20 months ago,” Starr said.

The White House this year turned over documents that Starr requested in 1994.

Starr’s investigation has lasted two years and two months. If it goes into November, it will be two months shy of three years. The probe has cost taxpayers more than $18 million, not including the cost of congressional inquiries in Washington.

A special Whitewater grand jury disbanded March 23 after two years when it reached its legal limit. Deputy Independent Counsel W. Hickman Ewing said the prosecutors’ office would ask for access to another panel.