Whitewater yielded most fruit since Watergate

August 1, 2002

ATLANTA: The Southeastern Legal Foundation, the public interest law firm that successfully pursued law license sanctions against former President Bill Clinton, today criticized the Clintons' attempt to recoup from taxpayers somewhere between $1 million and $6 million in legal fees resulting from the Whitewater investigation. Under the now-defunct Independent Counsel statute, government officials investigated and cleared by the Independent Counsel may seek reimbursement of legal fees. Of note, the Clintons' net worth is now estimated to be over $10 million.

"Outrage, pure and simple," said Phil Kent, SLF President. "President Clinton has repeatedly said that he would never ask the taxpayers to reimburse his legal fees, yet the temptation has again proven too much for he and Hillary. As a result, Southeastern Legal Foundation will seek to influence this process in the courts - including filing a Motion in Opposition in the appropriate court. The Clintons have made their bed, and now they should lie in it."

The Foundation points out several key problems regarding the Clintons' petition for legal fees:

- President Reagan and then-Vice President George H.W. Bush sought and received reimbursements for legal fees related to the Iran/Contra investigation, which yielded no indictments against either.

- Reagan and Bush had no legal defense fund to assist with payment of their respective legal fees; Clinton continues to raise money for his legal defense fund.

- If the Clintons are awarded fees, who recoups? The Clintons personally, or their legal defense fund, into which contributors have poured million of dollars to assist them?

- How can the Clintons recoup fees that have not actually been paid to their attorney, David Kendall?

- Reagan and Bush were investigated for issues related to their duties while in the White House; Whitewater, on the other hand, occurred years before Bill Clinton assumed the White House; Hillary Clinton was never an elected official during any of the investigation.

- The expanded Whitewater investigation is the most fruitful investigation against a sitting President since Watergate, resulting in a civil contempt holding against Clinton by a federal judge; impeachment by the U.S. House, which is tantamount to an indictment; an Agreed Order of Discipline with the Independent Counsel in which Clinton surrendered his law license for an unprecedented 5 years; and, disbarment by the U.S. Supreme Court.

For More Information Contact:
Media Relations
media@southeasternlegal.org
(404) 365-8500