McDougal Contempt Sentence Is Upheld

A federal appeals court upheld Susan McDougal’s contempt sentence for refusing to testify before a grand jury about President Clinton’s business dealings. McDougal had feared grand jurors would charge her with perjury if they had a different perception of the truth, but the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis said that allowing witnesses to remain silent for that reason would “frustrate completely the investigative function.” McDougal has been jailed since Sept. 9 and contends that prosecutors “have an agenda to ruin the president” and want to use her to do it.