Conservative Activist Helped Whitewater Witness

When David Hale was a star Whitewater witness cooperating with prosecutors, he stayed rent-free in a fishing cabin owned by a man hired by a conservative foundation as part of a project to unearth Whitewater information, according to interviews.

From 1994 to 1996, Hale often used a secluded cabin in Hot Springs owned by Parker Dozhier for day trips and overnight stays. FBI agents frequently accompanied Hale on the trips.

Dozhier also gave Hale, whose testimony in 1996 helped convict President Clinton’s former business partners and Arkansas’ governor, the use of his car.

During the time he was assisting Hale, Dozhier said he was paid $1,000 a month to supply the conservative American Spectator magazine with information about independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr’s Whitewater investigation. In all, the Spectator paid Dozhier about $35,000 over three years, he said.

Asked whether he ever talked to Hale about the secret grand jury investigation, Dozhier said, “If we had any discussion, it was about what was in the newspaper that day.”

Dozhier and Spectator publisher Terry H. Eastland said no money was ever given to Hale.

The White House has increasingly attacked the Whitewater investigation as emanating from what First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton described as a “vast right-wing conspiracy.”

Dozhier, who owns a local bait shop, said his assistance to Hale stemmed from a three-decade friendship.

Hale declined to be interviewed. His lawyer, David Bowden, said he was unaware of any assistance.