Whitewater probe wraps up, Clintons face no charges

Whitewater probe wraps up, Clintons face no charges
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

WASHINGTON, SEPT 21: US Independent Counsel Robert Ray announced on Wednesday that there isn't sufficient evidence to prosecute President Bill Clinton or his wife Hillary Clinton in connection with the Whitewater affair.

``This office has found that the evidence was insufficient to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that either President or his wife knowingly participated in criminal conduct or had any knowledge of criminal conduct,'' Ray said in a statement as the six-year investigation came to a close. The White House welcomed the decision, which lifts a load off the Clintons' shoulders especially Hillary Clinton, a candidate for the US Senate for the state of New York.

``I am glad it's finally over,'' the US First Lady told CNN, shortly after stating that she felt ``confident'' on what the outcome of the investigation would be. ``Now every body can just move on,'' she said. ``I am confident that not only have New Yorkers and Americans made up their minds, but there's nothing there to report.''

White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said: ``Robert Ray is now the latest investigator to complete an examination of the transactions related to the White Water Development Co. and conclude that there are no grounds for legal action.'' In 1994, US Attorney General Janet Reno appointed an independent council to look into the failed Whitewater real estate development in the state of Arkansas, in which the Clintons invested in the 1970s.

One of the key questions was whether or not in 1986 Bill Clinton at the time governor of Arkansas pressured Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan to lend his business partner Susan McDougal 300,000 dollars in violation of Federal Law. The loan was never repaid, and the savings and loan went under, costing taxpayers some 73 million dollars.

Twelve people were eventually convicted on charges stemming from independent counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation. Hillary, implicated over the mysterious disappearance of billing documents, was called to a grand jury hearing in January 1996. It was the first time a President's wife had been called to do so. President Clinton was also called to appear, but did so by video link.