Hillary Clinton Questioned About FBI Files
Whitewater prosecutors grill the first lady at the White House
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 14) -- First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was interviewed under oath today by Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr about the circumstances behind the White House's gathering of hundreds of sensitive FBI background files on previous White House employees. An administration official says the interview lasted just 15 minutes.
White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the interview took place
in the White House residence. Reading from a statement by White House Counsel Charles Ruff, McCurry said Mrs. Clinton was asked about the White House obtaining of FBI file information on former White House employees in 1993 and 1994.
In addition to Ruff, the Clinton's Whitewater lawyer David Kendall was also in the room during the interview. McCurry said when Mrs. Clinton was asked to be interviewed she voluntarily agreed, in keeping with the president's promise to cooperate fully with the independent counsel.
Reading from Ruff's statement, McCurry said, "As the president has
previously announced, he and Mrs. Clinton are cooperating fully
with the independent counsel. Mrs. Clinton voluntarily agreed when
an interview was requested."
The White House statement also said the sworn testimony focused
on "the acquisition in 1993-94 by the White House of certain FBI
file information concerning former White House employees.
Consistent with past practice, no further statements about the
content of the interview will be made at this time."
Mrs. Clinton has said she knows nothing about the controversy or the hiring of Craig Livingstone, the former aide who headed the office that collected the sensitive FBI material.
The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee uncovered the White House's gathering of the FBI files in 1997. There was a short-lived uproar and Livingstone resigned from the administration.
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