Under Fire, Treasury Aide Ends Whitewater Role : Politics: Deputy Secretary Altman is third Clinton appointee accused of conflict of interest. GOP critic cites new evidence on 1st Family’s money losses.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman on Friday removed himself from further official involvement in the government’s Whitewater real estate probe after he came under fire for privately briefing top White House aides on key aspects of the case.

He becomes the third high-ranking Clinton appointee to be accused of a conflict of interest in connection with the Whitewater affair.

In a separate development, Rep. Jim Leach (R-Iowa), ranking Republican on the House Banking Committee, released new evidence to support allegations that President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, lost less money than they have claimed--and perhaps even profited--by investing in the Whitewater resort development with the owner of a failed savings and loan.

Altman, who also serves as acting head of the Resolution Trust Corp., was severely criticized by Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee Thursday, when he disclosed that he briefed White House officials three weeks ago on an aspect of the RTC’s investigation into the Whitewater case.

In a statement, the Treasury Department noted that Altman’s interim appointment as RTC chief will expire on March 30 and “he will have no role with the RTC beyond that time.” Until then, it said, he plans to recuse himself from all of the agency’s dealings involving Whitewater.

The RTC, created to resolve hundreds of savings and loan failures in the 1980s, is investigating whether money from the now-defunct Madison Guarantee Savings & Loan of Little Rock was improperly funneled to the Whitewater development.

The owner of Madison, James B. McDougal, and his wife, Susan, were partners with the Clintons until 1992 in the Whitewater Development Corp., which was established to build a resort community in the Ozarks.

While the RTC continues to investigate matters involving Madison, a special counsel, Robert B. Fiske Jr., has been appointed by Atty. Gen. Janet Reno to conduct a wider investigation of all matters relating to the Clintons’ Whitewater investment.

At issue in the Whitewater controversy is whether Clinton, who was then governor of Arkansas, or Mrs. Clinton benefited improperly from the investment. The Clintons have insisted they are innocent of any wrongdoing and say they lost money on the deal because the lots did not sell as well as anticipated.

As the federal investigations have progressed, two other top-ranking White House officials besides Altman have been accused of conflicts in the affair.

White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster, who police say committed suicide last summer, was criticized for acting as the Clinton’s personal attorney in the matter while on the government payroll.

In addition, White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum has been taken to task by Republicans for allowing the Whitewater files to be removed from Foster’s office before it was searched by law enforcement officials investigating the suicide.

Under questioning by Republicans, Altman acknowledged that he met with Nussbaum and other White House officials to discuss the options facing the RTC in light of the then-impending Feb. 28 expiration date for all civil suits related to Madison and Whitewater. That deadline has since been repealed by Congress.

Altman’s decision to recuse himself from Whitewater-related matters represents a turnaround on his part. Just recently, he told Leach that he saw no conflict in his dealings with the case, even though he is a Clinton appointee.

Meanwhile, Leach, who has undertaken his own investigation, issued previously undisclosed portions of a Little Rock attorney’s 1992 interview with James McDougal.

The tape adds new elements to McDougal’s claim that the Clintons did not lose $68,000 on the deal, as they have said. McDougal contends they never invested more than about $13,500.

In the interview, conducted by Republican attorney Sheffield Nelson, McDougal contends that a $30,000 loan taken out by Mrs. Clinton on Dec. 16, 1980, was repaid entirely from Whitewater funds. The loan was taken out to pay for a model home to help spur sales at the resort and the home was carried as a corporate asset of Whitewater, McDougal said. Mrs. Clinton borrowed the money from the Bank of Kingston, Ark., because McDougal, who owned the bank, was barred by law from receiving a loan from his own institution.

Furthermore, McDougal also disputed the Clintons’ claim on their 1980 tax return that they made a $9,500 interest payment to him. “They didn’t pay me,” he said. “They may have paid someone else. They have never paid me a penny’s interest. They never owed me any money.”

If McDougal’s version of these transactions proves to be accurate, according to an analysis by Leach’s House Banking Committee staff, it is likely that the Clintons “lost no money in Whitewater” and may be liable for unpaid taxes.

The Clintons already have acknowledged they improperly took tax deductions in 1984 and 1985 on interest payments actually made by the Whitewater partnership. They later filed amended tax returns.

While the tape elaborates on McDougal’s story, the former thrift owner readily admits that he has no records to support his recollections.

Based on evidence previously made public, investigators believe that McDougal may have illegally diverted money from Madison to help pay off the loan that Mrs. Clinton took out to finance the model home at Whitewater.

A portion of Nelson’s 1992 interview with McDougal was previously provided to some reporters by sources who asked not to be identified. In it, McDougal ridiculed the Clinton’s claim that they lost $68,000 on the deal but offered no details.

“I could sink it quicker than they could lie about it if I could get in a position so I wouldn’t have my head beaten off,” McDougal told Nelson, whose legal help he was seeking. “And Bill (Clinton) knows that.”

Aides to Leach said they obtained a tape of the interview that included comments by McDougal that had not been transcribed earlier. In an interview with The Times, Nelson verified the accuracy of the newly disclosed material.

McDougal said that the $30,000 loan was paid down to $13,000 at the time he said the Clintons “assumed control of the corporation” in 1988. He said they then sold the property, used the proceeds to pay off the bank loan and kept the difference.