NEWSWEEK has obtained internal Justice Department documents showing that Heymann and other officials were deeply suspicious of the White House staff after Foster’s death. When White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum blocked Justice Department and Park Police investigators from reviewing files in Foster’s office, Heymann called Nussbaum and “reamed him out,” according to a Heymann aide’s notes. Matters got worse a few days later when a White House lawyer suddenly discovered the now famous shredded note in the bottom of Foster’s briefcase–a briefcase Nussbaum had already searched. Incensed, Heymann ordered a “full and vigorous investigation” by the FBI. Although the FBI found no evidence of wrongdoing, the inside story of Nussbaum’s interference with the investigation may show that aides seem to have been more interested in protecting the Clintons than in finding out why Foster died.
The White House has other Whitewater problems as well. Next month, a House committee will examine the Clintons’ tangled relations with James McDougal, the flamboyant Arkansas savings and loan operator who was their business partner. The White House says Clinton never used his powers as governor to aid McDougal.
But congressional investigators claim to have evidence challenging that. In one episode in 1986, three state inspectors were transferred after McDougal complained to Clinton about their refusal to grant sewage permits for one of his land deals. In another deal, McDougal wanted to build a micro-brewery and saloon on the site of another development project. Brewery owner William Cane Lyon told NEWSWEEK that McDougal “seemed to think he could pull Clinton’s string any time he wished.” State law barred breweries from selling drinks–but files from McDougal’s S&L include a proposed state bill changing the law. A cover letter from McDougal to Clinton’s chief of staff says: “Gov. Clinton has made a commitment concerning this bill.” The proposal was later withdrawn, but the Arkansas Alcohol Beverage Control board changed its regulations to accommodate the project. Clinton lawyer David Kendall now says McDougal “got no special treatment whatsoever,” and the brewery scheme fell apart. But it may yet boomerang on Clinton.
