Clinton Acknowledges That His Family Is Close to Bankruptcy

A new report that he and his wife are approaching personal bankruptcy “is probably right,” President Clinton said Thursday.

The president acknowledged that mounting legal bills for the couple in the Whitewater investigation and a civil suit accusing the president of sexual harassment are outstripping his income and assets--although he said he has “never added it all up.”

Clinton, responding to questions at his news conference, told reporters that he is not overly concerned. Referring to legal costs, the president said: “I think that’s apparently part of the price of this [job].”

A new report in Money magazine said the Clintons’ legal bills have surpassed $2 million, while private contributions to his defense fund have amounted to about $865,000.

The latest figures show that the Clintons owed $1.6 million in unpaid legal bills at the middle of last year, the magazine said.

The Clintons’ net worth, which approached $697,000 in July 1992, is now nearing zero as they are “on a collision course with bankruptcy,” according to the publication.

The president showed stoic unconcern over the burden of the legal fees and even seemed to revel in portraying himself as a hard-working man who ultimately would rise above his debts.

“You know, I didn’t run for this office for the money,” he said, even though “I feel badly that 20 years of our hard effort in savings may go away.” Clinton earns $200,000 a year in official salary.

Acknowledging that “we’ve received some help from some people, as you know, who have contributed to the legal defense fund,” Clinton insisted that “if I stay healthy, I’ll be able to pay my bills and earn a pretty good living.”

He said his concern is mainly for others. Referring to aides who have been summoned repeatedly by Whitewater investigators and congressional committees, the president said he felt “a lot worse about all the innocent people who work here who don’t make a particularly high salary and don’t have the net worth that we brought here, who have had to hire lawyers and pay legal fees.”

“They’re smaller legal bills, but for them it’s a lot of money,” the president explained. “So I’m a lot more concerned about them than myself.”