Figure Behind Starr Inquiry to Stand Trial

The man who launched the long-running Whitewater investigation by accusing President Clinton of involvement in an illegal loan was ordered Thursday to stand trial on charges that he lied to Arkansas insurance regulators.

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that a plea agreement between federal Whitewater prosecutors and David Hale did not exempt him from state charges.

The state prosecutor in Little Rock said he expected the court’s decision and applauded it. “It’s way past time for this case to get to trial,” prosecutor Larry Jegley said.

Hale, 58, is accused of misleading state regulators about the finances of an insurance company he owned.

The state seized the company in 1993, one year before Hale claimed that Clinton, while governor of Arkansas, pressured him to make an illegal loan to one of Clinton’s partners in a failed real estate development called Whitewater.

Hale’s allegation resulted in the appointment of an independent counsel; the investigation by Kenneth W. Starr is now in its fifth year.

Hale agreed to cooperate with the Whitewater investigation in exchange for a reduced sentence and the promise that no other charges would be brought against him regarding Whitewater-related cases.

Hale argued that his agreement with Whitewater prosecutors gave him immunity from state charges as well, a claim state officials challenged.

In allowing Hale’s state trial to go forward, the Arkansas Supreme Court warned that none of Hale’s earlier testimony could be used against him. Hale’s trial is scheduled for March 23.