Reprinted from The Washington Times , 5am -- April 14, 1998
Clinton lawyer asks Starr to let Justice handle Hale probe
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
President Clinton's personal attorney has asked independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr to turn over to the Justice Department an investigation of possible witness tampering involving David L. Hale.
"I do not think you or your office can credibly or appropriately conduct this investigation," David Kendall said in a Good Friday letter to Mr. Starr, citing links between the independent counsel and conservative groups accused of routing money to Mr. Hale while he was cooperating in the Whitewater investigation.
Last week, the Justice Department asked Mr. Starr to investigate accusations that Mr. Hale improperly received money from a conservative foundation while cooperating in the probe. Despite concerns of a possible conflict of interest, Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said Mr. Starr had jurisdiction because it involved possible tampering with one of his witnesses.
Mr. Holder said there had been "suggestions that your office would have a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict ... because of the importance of Hale to your investigation and because the payments allegedly came from funds provided by [wealthy conservative publisher] Richard Scaife."
But he said the Justice Department was "prepared to accept a referral from you" to take the case over.
Mr. Kendall said a probe by Mr. Starr represented a possible conflict of interest, adding that Mr. Starr was not impartial because he relied on Mr. Hale's testimony in the first Whitewater trial. He said a referral to Justice would "increase public confidence in the outcome of the investigation, whatever it is."
The Justice Department reviewed accusations that Mr. Hale accepted money from the American Spectator foundation while cooperating in the Whitewater probe. The foundation received money from Mr. Scaife, who also gave $1 million to Pepperdine University, where Mr. Starr will head the law school after the Whitewater probe ends. The review was sparked by accusations by Caryn Mann, a Bentonville, Ark., funeral home assistant manager, who said Mr. Hale received cash from Parker Dozhier, her former boyfriend.
Mr. Dozhier, a Hot Springs, Ark., bait-shop owner, said he was paid $48,000 by officials representing the American Spectator for clipping newspaper articles for the conservative monthly. He denied ever giving any money to Mr. Hale.
Terry Eastland, the magazine's publisher, said there is no evidence any money from a $1.7-million research project on Whitewater went to Mr. Hale.
Mr. Hale, who served 19 months after pleading guilty to unrelated fraud in the Whitewater probe, helped convict former Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker and the Clintons' Whitewater Development Corp. business partners, James and Susan McDougal.
Mr. Hale is still cooperating in the Starr probe. He said he never received any money from Mr. Dozhier or anyone else during the four years he has been cooperating in the Whitewater probe.
His attorney, David O. Bowden, said his client has "absolutely nothing to hide regarding his finances" and never received money from the American Spectator or Mr. Scaife. He said any accusations to the contrary were "blatant lies."
He also said the lone accuser, Miss Mann, is a former psychic, tarot-card reader and fortuneteller at the Golden Leaves Book Store in Hot Springs, who once claimed to know union boss Jimmy Hoffa's "last resting place" and also claimed to be a CIA employee who telepathically directed troop movements during Operation Desert Storm.
Mark Levin, president of Landmark Legal Foundation, challenged Mr. Kendall's letter as "politically motivated."
"It appears that Clinton appointees at the Department of Justice and now Mr. Kendall have instigated and are pursuing a political investigation of the independent counsel intended to undermine Mr. Starr's investigation and potentially intimate his key witness, David Hale," Mr. Levin said.
Mr. Levin, who served as chief of staff to former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, said an investigation of Mr. Hale by federal prosecutors appointed by Mr. Clinton would be partisan and inappropriate.Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of
The Washington Times.
To subscribe to the Washington Times National Weekly Edition, click this icon or call 800-363-9118.
