Hubbell Leaves Prison, Enters Halfway House

Former Justice Department official Webster L. Hubbell reported to a halfway house in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday after serving most of his sentence for mail fraud and tax evasion in a federal prison.

“This is to assist offenders in finding a job, finding a place to live, reestablishing their family ties,” said Dan Dunne, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Hubbell began serving a 21-month sentence in August 1995 for stealing $482,410 from his private clients at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Ark., where First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was a partner.

Hubbell was furloughed from the prison in Cumberland, Md., on Monday for legal purposes, and spent two days in Arkansas before reporting to Hope Village Community Corrections Center in southeast Washington, where he will get a job, possibly outside the center, Dunne said.

Dunne didn’t say what the legal proceedings were, but a federal grand jury in Little Rock has been considering Whitewater-related issues, and Hubbell has been cooperating with the investigation.

Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr twice had Hubbell’s sentencing delayed, saying he was helping prosecutors. Hubbell said he met with prosecutors for more than 100 hours.

One of the clients Hubbell bilked was the Resolution Trust Corp. The RTC oversaw the demise of Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan, an Arkansas thrift that failed at a cost of $65 million. Madison Guaranty was owned by James B. McDougal, the Clintons’ business partner in the Whitewater land development.

The transfer to the halfway house is standard for prisoners within 180 days of the end of their terms. Hubbell is scheduled to be released in February and could finish the last few months of his term at home, Dunne said.