Whitewater Verdicts

In Little Rock, Arkansas yesterday, a jury handed down guilty verdicts in the Whitewater trial of Clinton business partners James McDougal, Susan McDougal and Governor Jim Guy Tucker. James McDougal, a former S & L owner, was convicted of 18 charges of conspiracy and fraud, Susan McDougal was convicted of four counts, including mail fraud and false financial statements. And Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker has announced he’ll resign in July after his conviction for conspiracy and fraud in the real estate scheme. It was vindication day for Whitewater prosecutor and so-called Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr who has been accused of waging a partisan attempt to bring down the President. Bill and Hillary Clinton were not on trial here, but the President was a leading witness on behalf of the defense. His hours of videotaped testimony remains sealed, for now. Larry Bensky, Pacifica National Affairs Correspondent, joins us from Berkeley to explain the verdicts and what they mean in this election year.