D'Amato Won't Renew Whitewater Probe

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Nov. 7) -- Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-N.Y.) announced that he will not revive any Senate probes into the Whitewater affair, instead leaving the investigation to the special prosecutor.

"It seems to be that we should leave that in the hands of the special prosecutor and not be attempting to substitute our judgment, whether it be the Senate banking committee or any others, for the work that the prosecutor has to do," D'Amato said today.

D'Amato was one of the driving forces behind a year-long probe by a special Senate Whitewater committee. The panel finished last June, after spending $1.3 million and issuing a report critical of both President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.

D'Amato's statement comes after the president won a hefty 59 percent of the vote in the senator's home state of New York. Exit polls showed that only 34 percent of voters approved of D'Amato, just two years before he seeks re-election.

The possibility of other congressional probes into allegations of White House abuses, such as improper Democratic campaign donations, still exists. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said, "We have the responsibility in a variety of ways to take a look at ... what appears to be wrongdoing."

Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr is still looking into the Clintons' Arkansas business dealings, including the Whitewater land deal, and the collection of FBI background files by the White House.

Today, Attorney General Janet Reno said that the Justice Department will investigate an ethics complaint against Starr, forwarded by the chief federal judge in eastern Arkansas.

The complaint, originally filed by attorney Francis Mandanici, accuses the special prosecutor of acting politically and having a conflict of interest because of his work under previous Republican administrations.

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D'Amato Won't Renew Whitewater Probe

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