GOP Pushes for 5 Hearings on Whitewater Controversy

Republican lawmakers stepped up pressure on Democrats Tuesday to schedule congressional hearings on the Whitewater controversy, as special counsel Robert B. Fiske Jr. wound down the initial phase of his investigation of President Clinton’s role in the failed Arkansas land venture.

Ending what had been an extended respite from GOP criticism over Whitewater, more than 90 House Republicans led by a Californian, Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Rockland), introduced a resolution calling for concurrent hearings by five congressional committees. The hearings would begin no later than Aug. 15, the resolution states.

In the Senate, Republicans were threatening to force a vote on hearings before the end of the week if behind-the-scenes negotiations between party leaders fail to resolve a long-running partisan dispute over the timing and forum for a congressional investigation.

GOP sources said that “some progress” was made after a meeting Monday between Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) and Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.). But the two sides continued to disagree over ground rules. If no agreement is reached by today, the GOP sources said, Republicans might try to force a Whitewater vote before lawmakers leave town for a weeklong Memorial Day recess.

Both the House and the Senate voted last March to recommend that Congress conduct hearings on Whitewater, provided Democratic and Republican leaders could structure them in a way that did not interfere with Fiske’s criminal investigation. Since then, Republicans have repeatedly accused Democrats of stalling in hopes that public interest in Whitewater would subside.

In recent days, several developments have given Clinton’s GOP critics what they see as an opportunity to renew their calls for public hearings. One involves charges of sexual harassment filed against Clinton by Paula Corbin Jones, a former Arkansas state employee. Another is the anticipated indictment of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) on felony charges. Both situations, while unrelated to Whitewater, have provided GOP sharpshooters with new ammunition to use in their ethics attacks on Democrats.

“The Paula Jones thing makes Clinton more vulnerable on Whitewater, and vice versa, because they both address the character question,” said one Republican leadership aide.

Fiske, meanwhile, is nearing the end of the first phase of his investigation into the Whitewater Development Corp., in which Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton were partners, and its possible contribution to the failure of a Little Rock savings and loan. Fiske has repeatedly stated that, while he would prefer no public hearings at this stage, he would not object to a limited congressional inquiry once the first phase of his investigation is completed.

House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) plans to meet with Fiske Thursday to “sound him out” on possible hearings, a Democratic aide said.

But Doolittle and other Republicans charged that the Democrats still are playing for time, hoping that health care reform and other concerns once again will submerge questions about Whitewater.

“Two months have elapsed since the House passed” a resolution recommending Whitewater hearings and “those hearings have yet to materialize and no timetable has been set,” Doolittle said, adding that, “it’s time we do something about it.”