Within Hours of Verdict, Gov. Tucker Quits

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (May 28) -- In the first political fallout from the Whitewater verdicts, Gov. Jim Guy Tucker announced today he would resign.

Tucker, 52, who was found guilty of two of seven counts in the complex fraud case, said he would work with Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee on transition. Tucker plans to step down July 15.

Tucker, who became governor in 1992, told the Associated Press he needed to quit so he could work on his legal appeals.

"The people of the state should not be put through that," he said.

In other Whitewater news, Sen. Robert Dole, enroute to Ontario, Calif. for a West Coast campaign appearance, expressed little reaction to the Whitewater verdicts.

Dole told reporters aboard his plane, "I haven't commented on Whitewater from day one. I just sort of stayed out of it. You know, the White House always says (Sen. Alfonse) D'Amato and Dole, but I've stayed out of it. I haven't commented."

Asked if he was surprised, Dole shrugged his shoulders. Asked what he thinks the verdict says about the credibility of President Bill Clinton, Dole answered, "Well, I don't know. The jury reached a verdict. It's out there. I assume they have the right to appeal, but I am not going to get involved in it." Spokesman Nelson Warfield said he briefed Dole about the verdict and that Dole had "virtually no reaction."

Whitewater Jury Convicts Defendants -- May 28, 1996

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Within Hours of Verdict, Gov. Tucker Quits

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