Posted on 07/26/2002 6:31:26 PM PDT by GeneD
WASHINGTON, July 26 — Bill and Hillary Clinton are asking the government to reimburse them for about $3.5 million in legal fees stemming from the independent counsel investigation of the Whitewater land deal, ABCNEWS has learned.
The Clintons racked up about $11 million in legal bills for Whitewater and other investigations during their time in the White House. Their legal defense fund paid about $7 million. So, if their request for reimbursement is successful, the Clintons would end up paying very little out of pocket themselves. Under the law, those who are investigated but not indicted have the right to seek reimbursement if they can prove they would not have been targeted but for the Office of Independent Counsel Act.
"As explicitly authorized by the statute, and following the precedent set by Presidents Reagan and Bush, the Clintons have applied for reimbursement of their legal fees incurred in connection with the independent counsel's Whitewater investigation," Clinton lawyer David Kendall — whose own law firm is owed money — said in a statement.
Both Presidents Reagan and George Bush, father of the current president, had some legal fees reimbursed stemming from the Iran-Contra probe.
Independent Counsel Found No Wrongdoing
The massive Whitewater inquiry was launched in 1994 to investigate the Clintons' role in an Arkansas real estate venture dating to the 1970s. In September 2000, Independent Counsel Robert Ray — the third independent counsel to head the inquiry — filed a report clearing the Clintons of any criminal wrongdoing in Whitewater.
After leaving office, Hillary Clinton, now a New York senator, signed an $8 million book deal. Her husband, who reportedly makes $15 million a year from speaking engagements, later scored a $10 million book deal.
Attorney General John Ashcroft and the current independent counsel will be consulted before a decision on reimbursing the Clintons is made.
FBI Raids Hillary's Warehouse in Whitewater Deja Vu - 06/25/02
An excerpt:
The FBI raid may also be a sign that the reported no prosecution deal for the Clintons, demanded by Democrat leaders as the price for President Bush getting some of his legislative agenda implemented, is beginning to unravel - since Democrats seem to have kept little if any of their part of the bargain.
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