Jan. 4, 1996 — Carolyn Huber, longtime Clinton aide and White House assistant, finds Mrs. Clinton’s long-subpoenaed Rose Law firm Whitewater billing records.
Jan. 27, 1996 — Mrs. Clinton testifies for more than four hours before a federal grand jury regarding the appearance of her billing records.
Feb. 5, 1996 — Clinton subpoenaed to testify in the trial of Jim and Susan McDougal and Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker.
Feb. 8, 1996 — Senate Whitewater investigators review expletive-laden notes turned over by the White House which reveal a concern over what former Arkansas securities commissioner Beverly Bassett Schaffer might tell the Senate Committee about the Clintons’ involvement in Whitewater. “Item by item, make sure her story is okay,” the memo reads. “If the effort is botched, we’re done.”
Feb. 9, 1996 — Arkansas financial regulator Beverly Bassett Schafer says she was pressured by White House aides to make a public statement favoring the Clintons in their role in Whitewater. According to notes of a January 1994 White House meeting, aides suggested sending someone to Arkansas to make sure Schaffer’s story was “okay.”
sketch
March 4, 1996 — Whitewater trial of Jim and Susan McDougal and Gov. Tucker begins in LIttle Rock.
March 25, 1996 — David Hale sentenced to 28 months in prison and ordered to reimburse the government $2.04 million.
April 2, 1996 — Hale takes the stand and says Clinton pressured him to make an illegal $300,000 loan. Clinton had called the allegation “a bunch of bull.”
April 8, 1996 — Under oath, Hale concedes he can’t recall the dates of various conversations he says took place.
April 8, 1997 — His neutrality under fire, Starr defends his decision to keep private clients while working on Whitewater.
April 28, 1996 — The president testifies by videotape from the White House, denying Hale’s allegation he pressured him for a $300,000 loan.
April 30, 1996 — Democratic Sens. Bennett Johnston’s (D-La.) and Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) request for Starr to be removed from the Whitewater probe rebuffed by U.S. Court of Appeals. Johnston and Reid contend Starr is biased against Clinton.
May 1, 1996 — Investigators identify inconsistencies in Mrs. Clinton’s testimony about repayment of a loan to McDougal.
May 9, 1996 — Clinton’s testimony is played to the jury.
May 28, 1996 — Jury finds Tucker and the McDougals guilty of 24 of the 30 counts against them.
May 30, 1996 — Poll finds Americans believe 60 percent to 30 percent that Clinton is hiding something related to Whitewater.
May 30, 1996 — White House surrenders Travelgate documents, avoiding contempt of Congress vote.
June 14, 1996 — Senate Whitewater investigators ask Mrs. Clinton for more information regarding her work on the Castle Grande deal, the appearance of her Rose Law firm billing records, and the handling of documents by Webster Hubbell and Vincent Foster. She provides written responses on June 17.
June 17, 1996 — Trial begins in Little Rock for Arkansas bankers Herby Branscum Jr. and Robert Hill, charged with 11 felony counts in their handling of Madison funds in connection with Clinton’s 1990 gubernatorial re-election bid.
June 18, 1996 — Senate Whitewater probe concludes. Republicans issue scathingly critical report of obstruction by first lady and White House aides. Democrats issue separate report concluding no wrongdoing by the Clintons or their associates.
June 19, 1996 — House holds hearing into White House’s improper collection of FBI background files.
June 19, 1996 Starr names close Clinton aide Bruce Lindsey as an unindicted co-conspirator in the Hill and Branscum case.
June 20, 1996 Attorney General Reno asks Starr to look into the FBI files controversy.
June 25, 1996 — White House turns over 2,000 Travelgate documents, averting a contempt of Congress vote for the second time.
July 7, 1996 — Clinton testimony recorded by videotape in White House session.
July 16, 1996 — Bruce Lindsey, an unindicted co-conspirator, testifies in Branscum and Hill trial.
July 18, 1996 — Clinton’s video testimony played before jurors. The president denies he, as governor, promised political jobs to Branscum and Hill in exchange for political donations.
Aug. 1, 1996 — Little Rock jury acquits Hill and Branscum on four charges and deadlocks on the remaining seven.
Aug. 15, 1996 — Jim McDougal begins cooperating with Whitewater prosecutors. His sentencing date is delayed.
Aug. 19, 1996 — Jim Guy Tucker sentenced to four years’ probation. On Aug. 20, Susan McDougal is sentenced to two years in prison.
Aug. 27, 1996 — Contradicting Senate testimony of Clinton aides, a newly released memo indicates Mrs. Clinton was behind the 30-hour delay in releasing Vincent Foster’s suicide note.
Sept. 4, 1996 — Susan McDougal held in contempt of court for refusing to testify before federal grand jury in Little Rock, and sentenced to 18 months in jail.
Sept. 13, 1996 — Starr decides not to re-try Arkansas bankers Herby Branscum, Jr. and Robert Hill on seven deadlocked charges.
Sept. 20, 1996 — A bitterly divided House Government Reform and Oversight Committee approves its Travelgate report on the firing of seven longtime White House travel office workers, with committee members voting along party lines. “President Clinton has engaged in an unprecedented misuse of the executive power, abuse of executive privilege and obstruction of numerous investigations into the Travel Office matter,” says Chairman William Clinger (R-Penn.). Democrats walk out of the hearing room.
Sept. 24, 1996 — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issues report finding that a real estate document drafted by Mrs. Clinton when she worked at the Rose Law Firm was used by Jim McDougal’s savings and loan on a “sham” transaction to evade regulations and pay $300,000 in questionable commissions.
Oct. 4, 1996 — Starr defends his decision to address an audience on legal issues at Regent University, a law school run by conservative evangelist Pat Robertson.
Oct. 25, 1996 — A federal court authorizes Starr to investigate whether former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum lied to Congress about the FBI file flap.
Dec. 15, 1996 — Starr tells the Economic Club of Detroit it has been difficult finding cooperation to get at the truth. As the cost of the investigation approaches $9 million, Starr says, “It is time-consuming and therefore expensive to investigate” and dismisses as “utterly wrong” the allegation that he’s out to get the Clintons.
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