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In reply to the discussion: For a little perspective, let this sink in: [View all]Hortensis
(58,785 posts)For that very reason. Even more, McDougal was already in legal trouble because of various financial irregularities related to his bank. Whitewater came out because of that, and the Clintons association discovered because of that. For those not around back then, the Whitewater land development was a relatively small issue among bigger serious legal problems for its developer, McDougal.
It became nationally known because the Clintons invested money in the project, because Bill Clinton had been elected president by then, and because the Republican Party had by then been taken over by conscienceless and unprincipled right-wing seekers of power. They misused government to persecute and take out enemies. When the first special prosecutor was going to complete and close the investigation into the Clintons after finding nothing, the Republican leadership removed him and installed one of their own type who'd use his authority to try to take down a president (Ken Starr). After years of phony investigation that uncovered no crimes, but did produce years of very useful allegation smoke, Whitewater did finally lead to impeachment after the president lied about a completely unrelated sexual affair.