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February 1994 - Story 1 - A good beginning for the month . . . . . WHITEWATER LOST MONEY, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN INTERVIEWS, DOCUMENTS SEEM TO SUPPORT TWO OF THE CLINTONS' MAIN CONTENTIONS ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT. Many have had the dream of getting rich through real estate, and Bill Clinton, then the attorney general of Arkansas, was no different from countless others when he and his wife chased that dream in 1978 by becoming partners in a venture known as Whitewater Estates. Chris Wade, the real estate agent who handled sales for Whitewater, said he remembers Clinton telling him about his hopes for making money on scenic property in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas. (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1582 words), Feb 1

February 1994 - Story 2 - But the WASHINGTON POST and the GOP get the story back on track . . . . HILL DEMOCRATS PROMISE HEARING Democratic chairmen of the House and Senate banking committees agreed yesterday to schedule savings and loan oversight hearings that Republicans vowed to use as forums for inquiries about the Whitewater Development Corp. and Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan. (WASHINGTON POST ) Feb 2

February 1994 - Story 3 The Charlotte Observer is more direct. CLINTONS ALSO FOCUS OF HEARINGS Republicans mapped plans Tuesday to turn hearings on the savings and loan cleanup agency into an investigation of President Clinton's and Hillary Rodham Clinton's Arkansas business dealings. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York and Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, the ranking Republicans on the congressional banking committee, had pressed for separate hearings on the Clintons' investment in a real estate venture, the Whitewater Development Corp., and its connection to a failed S&L (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 629 words), Feb 2

February 1994 - Story 4 Republican Investigators . . . . Federally-insured deposits ? PROBE: DEPOSITS IN S&L DIVERTED TO CLINTON LOAN GOP INVESTIGATORS SAY THRIFT'S OWNER USED MONEY FOR PAYMENT FOR HIS PARTNERS; WAS ACCOUNTING PROPER? Federally insured deposits were diverted from Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan in 1985 to make a $7,300 payment on a personal bank loan owed by then-Gov. Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, as part of their investment in a real estate development, congressional investigators say. (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 610 words), Feb 2

February 1994 - Story 5 "a federal official confirmed yesterday . . . . ." S&L CONFLICT SUGGESTED FOR FIRST LADY MRS. CLINTON SAID TO REPRESENT US VS. FAMILY FRIEND, POLITICAL SUPPORTER Hillary Rodham Clinton represented federal regulators in a savings and loan case against a family friend and political supporter,eventually settling a $3.3 million complaint for $200,000, a federal official confirmed yesterday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is trying to determine whether Mrs. Clinton, or her employer, the Rose Law Firm, submitted to the government the required notification of a potential conflict of interest, said David Barr, a spokesman for the FDIC. (BOSTON GLOBE, 356 words) Feb 4

February 1994 - Story 6 FosterGATE - "Federal law-enforcement officials who have seen the report . . . . . . . " What Federal law-enforcement officials? CLINTON AIDE CRITICIZED FOR ROLE IN SUICIDE PROBE The U.S. Park Police report on its inquiry into the death of a top White House lawyer strongly suggests that the counsel to the president, Bernard Nussbaum, impeded investigators and offered a dubious account of the discovery of the victim's brooding note. Federal law-enforcement officials who have seen the report say it shows that Nussbaum interfered with witness interviews by having White House lawyers sit in on them and denied the park police access to documents in (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 870 words), Feb 4

REPORT SUGGESTS SUICIDE INVESTIGATION HAMPERED BY BARRIERS Nearly identical text. (ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 1099 words), Feb 4

February 1994 - Story 7 FosterGATE MORE OPENNESS ORDERED IN FOSTER SUICIDE PROBE Criticized for withholding documents about a White House lawyer's suicide, Attorney General Janet Reno authorized quicker release Thursday of records that bear on the government's integrity and have high news interest. (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 478 words), Feb 4

RENO ORDERS EXPEDITED RELEASE OF OFFICIAL RECORDS Almost the same text. (THE BALTIMORE SUN, 309 words), Feb 4

February 1994 - Story 8 - You could have fooled me. THE PRESS ISN'T BULLYING, JUST WORKING Why is it, whenever public figures moan about the rigors of public scrutiny, some journalists feel called upon to dive into their hair shirts, ostentatiously flagellate themselves and engage in paroxysms of mea culpa? ( AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 666 words),Feb 4

PRESS SCRUTINY TESTS THE METTLE OF TOP NOMINEES -Nearly identical text. (LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 701 words), Feb 4

HEADLINE: JOURNALISTS NEED NOT APOLOGIZE FOR BEING TOUGH ON POLITICIANS Nearly identical text. (ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 714 words), Feb

February 1994 - Story 9 - When you have the Mainstream Media on your side, YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING. DESPITE PROSECUTOR, SPECULATION ABOUT WHITEWATER PERSISTS QUESTIONS RAISED ON PROBE OF FOSTER'S DEATHIf President Clinton and his aides thought they had won a respite from the Whitewater scandal by requesting the appointment of a special prosecutor, this past week proved them wrong. Gleeful Republicans and some newspapers hammered away at the White House, advancing theories about Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton's business dealings in Arkansas, and about the death of their friend and lawyer, Vincent Foster. (THE BOSTON GLOBE, 706 words), Feb 6

February 1994 - Story 11 - Hidden "Criminal" Assets ? CLINTON PAL MAY HAVE HIDDEN ASSETS James McDougal, President Clinton's business partner in the WhitewaterDevelopment Co. Inc., may have illegally hidden his ownership in Whitewater when he filed for bankruptcy in September 1991, court records show.McDougal claimed his only assets were $300 worth of clothes when hefiled for bankruptcy in Los Angeles, records show.(SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 279 words.) Feb 7

February 1994 - Story 12 Senator D'Amato LIES and the WASHINGTON POST LIES right along with him. FDIC CHOICE PLEDGES WHITEWATER RECUSAL - GOP SENATORS QUESTION TIGERT'S CLINTON TIES By Jerry Knight President Clinton's nominee to head the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has promised to keep away from the agency's investigation of Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan, the failed Arkansas thrift that financed Whitewater Development Corp. [THIS IS A LIE - the Whitewater real estate development was initiated in1978 - MacDougal did not buy Madison until 1983.]

[Para 11] The RTC referred the investigation of Madison to the Justice Department in October 1992, because of possible criminal violations, and usually in such cases the government files civil lawsuits to try to get some of its money back, D'Amato pointed out. [THIS IS A LIE, and D'Amato knew it was a LIE - See the L. Jean Lewis Cheat Sheet on the web pages detailing the Washington Post-L. Jean Lewis collaboration] (WASHINGTON POST, Feb 9)

February 1994 - Story 14 -- THE SHREDDING STORY BEGINS - From the Rev. Moon's Washington Times over to Susan Schmidt of the Washington Post - ALLEGED WHITEWATER SHREDDING TO BE PROBED By Susan Schmidt LITTLE ROCK, ARK., FEB. 9 -- Special counsel Robert B. Fiske Jr. will investigate allegations that employees at the Rose Law Firm here have shredded documents relating to Whitewater Development Corp. Rose officials today denied the claim. The Washington Times, quoting an unnamed Rose employee, said law firm documents on the real estate investment of President Clinton and his wife Hillary, a former Rose partner, were shredded last Thursday. (WASHINGTON POST), Feb 9

HILLARY CLINTON'S EX-FIRM ALLEGED TO SHRED WHITEWATER DOCUMENTS Identical text. (THE BOSTON GLOBE, 153 words), Feb 9

February 1994 - Story 15 --- looking ahead to Mr Starr ? GOP SEEKS FREER PROBES OF LAWMAKERS WASHINGTON -- A proposed independent counsel law sparked bitter House clashes yesterday. Republicans demanded that every criminal probe of a lawmaker be handled outside the Justice Department, while Democrats insisted that the attorney general should decide who should prosecute each case. (THE BALTIMORE SUN, 309 words), Feb 10

HEADLINE: SPECIAL PROSECUTOR BILL RAISES HACKLES IN HOUSE// LAWMAKERS ARGUE EXTENT OF AUTHORITY Almost the same text. (ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 443 words), Feb 10

February 1994 - Story 16 --- LEST WE FORGET YESTERDAY'S WASHINGTON POST STORY ON SHREDDING WHITEWATER DOCUMENTS SHREDDED? MRS. CLINTON'S FORMER LAW FIRM DENIES REPORT THAT IT DESTROYED PAPERS Same Text as Story x The Rose law firm where first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was a partner . . . . (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 242 words), Feb 10

NEW ALLEGATION EXPANDS PROBE OF WHITEWATER Same Text as Story x Special counsel Robert Fiske will investigate allegations that workers at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Ark., shredded documents relatingto Whitewater Development Corp. Rose officials Wednesday denied theclaim.The Washington Times, quoting an unnamed Rose employee, said documentson the real estate investment of President Clinton and his wifeHillary, a former Rose partner, had been shredded Thursday.(SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 130 words.) Feb 10

LAW FIRM DENIES REPORT IT SHREDDED RECORDS RELATING TO WHITEWATER Almost the same text. (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 241 words), Feb 10

February 1994 - Story 17 - Maybe the Iran-Contra investigation was not the only thing worrying the Republicans . . . . . INDEPENDENT COUNSELS SUPPORTED - HOUSE VOTES TO REINSTATE LAW PERMITTING THEM The House voted 356-56 Thursday to reinstate a law that permits the appointment of independent counsels to investigate and prosecute alleged criminal acts by high-ranking public officials and members of Congress. First enacted in 1978, the law lapsed 14 months ago. Former President George Bush and Republican senators had blocked its renewal, complaining it had been abused by Iran-Contra special prosecutor Lawrence Walsh. (LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 487 words), Feb 11

February 1994 - Story 19 - and then along came Ken Starr . . . COUNSEL LAW - A STRONG TOOL IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE IS RIGHTLY RESTORED Although its action probably has come too late to affect the Whitewater investigation, Congress has done the right thing in restoring the independent counsel law. Lawmakers adopted the statute in 1977, mindful of former President Richard Nixon's dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox during the Watergate scandal. Before lawmakers bowed to Senate Republican pressure and permitted the statute to expire in 1992, it proved its worth in enhancingpublic knowledge of such White House . . . . . (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 421 words), Feb 12

February 1994 - Story 20 - Are these the same Whitewater files from Foster's office that were provided to the Justice Department in early January? WHITEWATER NOT IN FOSTER REPORT The secret Park Police report on the suicide of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster doesn't mention Whitewater Development Corp., the Clintons' failed Arkansas real estate deal, a police official said Friday. The Park Police interviewed Foster's family and friends and concluded that he was depressed about his White House work. Some Whitewater files found in Foster's office after his suicide were transferred to the Clintons' personal attorney without being shown to Park Police investigators. (ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 96 words), Feb 12

February 1994 - Story 21- A journalistic coup? "I killed myself because of Whitewater - Vince" WHITEWATER NOT PART OF REPORT ON SUICIDE The secret Park Police report on the July 20 suicide of deputy White House counsel Vincent Foster doesn't mention Whitewater Development Corp., the Clintons' failed Arkansas real estate deal, a police official said Friday.`Nothing in there talks about Whitewater,' said Park Police Maj. Robert Hines. `No one we interviewed mentioned it.' The Park Police interviewed Foster's family and friends and concluded that he was depressed about his White House work. (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 166 words) Feb 12

POLICE: WHITEWATER NOT IN SUICIDE REPORT Similar Text (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 370 words), Feb12

February 1994 - 22. Letter to the Editor -- Headline by the newspaper IN WHITEWATER, IS IT DAMAGE CONTROL OR COVERUP? President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, want the American people to believe they lost money on their Whitewater land investment. They also want usto believe they had little say in the company's daily affairs. (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1021 words), Feb 13

February 1994 - Story 23 IN THE END, MONEY-LOSING WHITEWATER DID MAKE SOME PROFIT - THE CLINTONS HAVE SAID THEY MADE NO MONEY FROM THE VENTURE, WHICH IS BEING PROBED. THEIR PARTNER AND A LAWYER SAID THE MONEY WENT TO THE ILL PARTNER The money-losing Arkansas real estate venture that has entangled the first family in a federal investigation began generating a small income months before President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton sold their interest. The Clintons decided not to take any of the money before ending their 14- year relationship with Whitewater Development Corp. in December 1992, one of their lawyers said. (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 623 words), Feb 14

February 1994 - Story 25 Continued LIES and MISREPRESENTATIONS in the Washington Post reporting of Whitewater. WHITEWATER INVESTIGATION OUTLINED - COUNSEL TELLS JUDGE CLINTON- THRIFT PROBE COULD TAKE 1 1/2 YEARS By Susan Schmidt Special counsel Robert B. Fiske Jr. told a federal judge yesterday his investigation of President Clinton's Whitewater real estate venture and ties to a failed S&L may last 18 months, cover more than a million documents and involve 20 or more investigators.

[Para 10] In addition to the criminal investigation going on in Little Rock, a special civil task force assembled by the Resolution Trust Corp., the federal agency charged with overseeing the S&L crisis cleanup, has been working feverishly in Kansas City for the past several weeks. [L. Jean Lewis had been working on nothing but Madison Guaranty since the summer of 1992 - Investigative hours: 1992-595 hours; 1993-2608 hours; 1994-2458 hours ]

[Para 17] Capital Management's owner, David Hale, is facing a trial on criminal fraud charges by Fiske's office this spring. Hale has alleged that Tucker and Clinton pressured him to make SBA-funded loans to help Madison, including a $300,000 loan, part of which ended up financing a Whitewater land transaction. Tucker and Clinton have denied pressuring Hale for the loans, and Clinton has said he remembers no such conversations where such loans were discussed. [Hale had been indicted by Paula Casey, the Clinton-appointed U.S. attorney in Little Rock in September 1993 on charges of embezzling $4.3 million dollars from the Small Business Administration. When Casey would not work out a plea bargain with Hale and after he had made threatening phone calls to the White House, Hale made the initial charges against Clinton in a press conference and subsequently in a series of MEDIA events through Floyd Brown and David Bossie, radical right wing Republican publicists. ] (WASHINGTON POST, Feb 17)

February 1994 - Story 26 LEST WE FORGET LAST WEEK'S WASHINGTON POST STORY ABOUT SHREDDING - CLINTON SHRUGS OFF PROBE - WHITEWATER FIRM TOLD TO KEEP DATA In the wake of a report that documents in the Whitewater matter were shredded, prosecutor Robert Fiske directed Hillary Rodham Clinton's former law firm to safeguard all records, according to two people familiar with the firm. In Washington, President Clinton said today Fiske's special counsel investigation "is going to cost the taxpayersmillions of dollars" and that "most of it has nothing to do with me."(SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 450 words.) Feb 17

DON'T SHRED WHITEWATER PAPERS, PROBER SAID TO WARN. Identical Text. (THE BALTIMORE SUN, 405 words), Feb 17

February 1994 - Story 28 -- Let's take another swipe at Hillary. CLINTON DUMPING HIS FIRST LADY: IS IT JUST A MATTER OF TIME? Bill Clinton's latest No. 1 liability occupies an extremely sensitive position in his administration - and his life. Once hailed as his greatest asset, Hillary Rodham Clinton is now suffering radical image surgery that makes her bad hair days look easy and glamorous by comparison. She's finally fulfilling a feminist's dream, becoming a first lady who is taken seriously for her very own work. Only in this scenario, dream becomes nightmare. (ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 777 words), Feb 17

FDIC RULES OUT ROSE FIRM SANCTIONS OVER POTENTIAL MADISON CASE CONFLICT By Susan Schmidt The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. issued a report yesterday saying it would not seek legal sanctions against the Rose law firm of Little Rock, Ark., for apparently failing to fully disclose two areas of potential conflict when it was hired in 1989 to pursue a case involving the defunct Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan.

AGENCY WON'T SEEK SANCTIONS ON FIRM - HILLARY CLINTON'S EX-EMPLOYER IN CLEAR by Susan Schmidt Much of the same text. (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER , 377 words.) Feb 18

HILLARY CLINTON'S EX-LAW FIRM CLEARED OF CONFLICT CLEAR by Susan Schmidt Much of the same text. (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 304 words.) Feb 18

February 1994 - Story 30 -- Well he was right about that. WHITEWATER SPECIAL COUNSEL TARGETS HILLARY CLINTON'S FORMER LAW FIRM President Clinton declared Thursday the Whitewater criminal investigation will cost taxpayers millions of dollars though ``most of it has nothing to do with me.'' The prosecutor has turned his attention to Hillary Rodham Clinton's former law firm. In Little Rock, Ark., a broadly worded document called a notice subpoena was delivered to the Rose Law Firm this week including ``an admonition against any shredding or destruction of materials,'' said one person employed by the firm. (ST PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 343 words), Feb 18

February 1994 - Story 31 -- It would be interesting to learn why the Reagan S&L agencies did not close Madison down when Clinton's Securities Commission requested that they do so in 1987. CLINTON LAND DEAL CASE REVIVES PROBE OF ARK. S&L FAILURE The government's savings-and-loan cleanup agency is scrambling to conduct yet another review of the failed Arkansas S&L that has dragged President Clinton into controversy. The Resolution Trust Corp.'s goal this time, regulators say, is to determine whether the S&L, which had numerous signs of problems, should have been closed earlier than 1989 and whether anyone else can be sued now for its failure. (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 359 words), Feb 19

RTC PLANS NEW REVIEW OF S&L TIED TO CLINTON Nearly identical text. (LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 216 words), Feb 19

February 1994 - Story 32 WHITEWATER PROBE LIKELY WILL COST CLINTON PLENTY, TOO When President Clinton complained Thursday, that the special investigation of his Whitewater land investment `is going to cost the taxpayers millions of dollars,' he did not mention that it will likely cost him a lot as well. The White House has said the Clintons are footing their own bills for the services of David Kendall of Washington's Williams & Connolly law firm to represent them in the inquiry by special counsel Robert B. Fiske Jr. (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 198 words), Feb 19

February 1994 - Story 33 - Something must have happened to the documents involving prominent Republicans in Arkansas 21 BOXES HOLD WHITEWATER DOCUMENTS Stashed in a government warehouse in Dallas and soon to become the heart of a special prosecutor's case, 21 boxes of files detail the failure of an Arkansas savings and loan that had ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Few, if any, of the papers have been publicly released. But a roster of the documents hints at some of the intriguing information they may hold about prominent Arkansans and their dealings with the failed Madison Guaranty savings and loan. . (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 388 words), Feb 20

WHAT WILL PAPERS IN ARK. S&L CASE REVEAL? LIST HINTS AT HEAVY HITTERS' INVOLVEMENT Nearly identical text (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 331 words), Feb 20

February 1994 - Story 34 - A Single Voice in the Wilderness . . . WHITEWATER RUNNETH OVER If you believe the stories filling the front pages and the airwaves these days, the Clintons are in a heap of legal and ethical trouble. (MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, 1452 words), Feb 21

February 1994 - Story 35 FISKE PICKS LEGAL TEAM TO PROBE WHITEWATER DEAL, Special counsel Robert B. Fiske Jr. named a legal team heavy with seasoned prosecutors and financial fraud experts yesterday to investigate the Whitewater real estate venture involving President and Mrs. Clinton. (THE BALTIMORE SUN, 442 words), Feb 24

February 1994 - Story 37 - Back to Foster. SPECIAL COUNSEL HIRES FORMER PROSECUTOR FOR FOSTER DEATH PROBE By Susan Schmidt Special counsel Robert B. Fiske Jr. yesterday announced he has hired a prominent former New York prosecutor to lead an investigation into the events relating to the suicide last summer of former White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster. (WASHINGTON POST), Feb 24

February 1994 - Story 38 - The Washington Post and the GOP on the Trail. . AGENCIES ACCUSED OF 'WHITEWASH' ON WHITEWATER By Susan Schmidt In a sometimes heated debate over the Whitewater investigation, Senate Republicans yesterday questioned top officials of two federal banking agencies whether they are allowing partisan politics to interfere with the inquiry. In a hearing before the Banking Committee, Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato (N.Y.), the panel's ranking Republican, lambasted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairman for his agency's recent report clearing the Rose Law Firm of conflicts of interest, calling it "an incredible whitewash." (WASHINGTON POST, Feb 25)

REPUBLICANS SEE POLITICS IN S&L PROBE - WHITEWATER INQUIRY DOMINATES RTC HEARING by Susan Schmidt-Almost identical text (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER , 520 words.) Feb 25

THRIFTS, PROBE SET POLITICIANS BICKERING Almost Identical Text. (THE BOSTON GLOBE, 328 words), Feb 24

GOP SENATORS CHARGE COVER-UP ON WHITEWATER. Accusing the White House of cover-ups and stonewalling, Senate Republicans lambasted the administration and congressional Democrats yesterday for their handling of the Whitewater imbroglio, and won assurances from regulators that there would be further investigations into Hillary Rodham Clinton's former law firm. (THE BALTIMORE SUN, 553 words), Feb 25

February 1994 - Story 39 - The New York Times and the GOP on the Trail. . . REGULATOR BRIEFS WHITE HOUSE ON WHITEWATER INQUIRY by Stephen Labaton In a surprising admission, the head of a federal agency examining the failure of an Arkansas savings and loan at the center of the inquiry into the Clintons' real estate investments said he held a briefing three weeks ago for senior White House aides on the agency's progress. Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, who is also the acting head of the Resolution Trust Corp., acknowledged Thursday under questioning by Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee that he had met with the White (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS , 546 words.) Feb 25

RTC BRIEFED WHITE HOUSE ON WHITEWATER PROBE Almost Identical Text. (MIAMI HERALD, 352 words), Feb 25

CLINTON AIDES BRIEFED ON WHITEWATER PROBE - RTC CHIEF SAYS HE DISCUSSED STRATEGY Almost identical text.(SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 542 words.) Feb 25

February 1994 - Story 40 There was SOME investigative reporting in the Mainstream Media CONSERVATIVE AD MAN IS UP TO HIS OLD TRICKS Conservative activist Floyd Brown, who tormented Democratic presidential candidates with the infamous Willie Horton ad in 1988 and the Gennifer Flowers tapes in 1992, is up to his old tricks. Brown is a guiding force behind current Republican attempts to tar President Clinton with details of the Whitewater affair. His organization, Citizens United, has been conducting research, collecting documents and acting as a clearinghouse for GOP congressional aides and investigative (THE BOSTON GLOBE, 630 words), Feb 26

February 1994 - Story 41 - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ! ! ALTMAN OUT. Part One of the Washington Post Story of February 26. SENIOR OFFICIAL STEPS ASIDE IN PROBE OF SL LINKED TO CLINTONS' VENTURE By Susan Schmidt and Charles R. Babcock Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger C. Altman, a political appointee serving as temporary chief of the federal thrift cleanup agency, recused himself yesterday from any further action on the investigation of an Arkansas savings and loan with ties to President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. . . . . Altman also said he will step down as interim head of the Resolution Trust Corp. at the end of March.

[Para 10] Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Leach (Iowa), the ranking Republican on the House Banking Committee, yesterday released portions of a taped conversation in which the Clintons' former business partner, James McDougal, disputes their accounting of their investment in their joint Whitewater land venture. McDougal said in the 1992 conversation that the Clintons never made a $9,000 interest payment that they claimed on their 1980 federal income taxes and that they used corporate assets to pay off a personal loan . . . . . .

[part of Para 11] The tape was made during a talk McDougal had in the spring of 1992 with Sheffield Nelson, who ran for governor against Clinton in 1990 and was himself an investor in a project financed through the McDougal-owned Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan. [Information not disclosed in the Post article - The Campobello project involving Sheffield Nelson drained the capital assets of Madison in the early 1980's and was a major cause of that S&Ls collapse. Nelson received a monetary windfall from the corpse of Madison in 1988 -a 60 per cent return on his investment - from a Reagan-controlled S&L regulatory agency. Nelson was the Republican candidate for governor in 1990 and 1994 and has been the Republican national committeeman from Arkansas since 1990. Jeff Gerth of the New York Times researched and wrote an anti-Clinton article in the law officer of Nelson in the spring of 1992.]

February 1994 - Story 43 Only the White House Spins. SPIN DOCTOR MAKES CALLS AT WHITE HOUSE - DAVID GERGEN IS BEING HAILED FOR REBUILDING BILL CLINTON'S IMAGE It was the day after the State of the Union and, in case anyone had missed the message, David Gergen was explaining it to 15 reporters `How do you answer the criticism from liberals that President Clinton sounded like a Republican?' someone asked. . (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 1193 words), Feb 27

February 1994 - Story 44 -- We"ll get her yet! HILLARY CLINTON LAW FIRM'S ROLE SCRUTINIZED AGAIN- EARLIER, [in 1989] THE FDIC FOUND NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST OVER AN ARKANSAS S&L. THOSE FINDINGS ARE BEING REVIEWED. Two federal regulators raised concerns in 1989 that Hillary Rodham Clinton's law firm had conflicts of interest in representing the government in an Arkansas thrift failure, documents show. Their worries, however, were overruled by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. lawyer April Breslaw, who wrote: "On these facts, I am not inclined to take a $10 million case away from counsel that has obtained fine results for me on other matters."<p>(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 563 words), Feb 28

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