Susan McDougal

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Susan McDougal (born 1955 in Heidelberg, Germany) is one of the few people who served prison time as a result of the Whitewater controversy in the United States, though fifteen individuals were convicted of federal charges. She is most notorious for refusing to answer "three questions" for a grand jury about whether President Bill Clinton lied in his testimony during her Whitewater trial. Her refusal lead to 18 months jail time for contempt of court, which was most of her total 22 months of incarceration. McDougal received a full Presidential pardon from outgoing President Clinton in the final hours of his presidency in 2001.

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[edit] Biography

She was born Susan Carol Henley, the daughter of James B. Henley and Laurette (Mathieu) Henley. Her brother, John Henley, is a Youth Minister within the Methodist church.

Susan McDougal was married from 1976 until 1990 [1] to James B. McDougal, also of Little Rock, Arkansas. The McDougals were partners with Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton in the failed Whitewater real estate venture in the 1980s.

McDougal separated from Jim McDougal in the late 1980s and moved to Los Angeles. There, from 1989 until the summer of 1992[2], she worked in Los Angeles as a personal assistant to actress Nancy Mehta, wife of noted conductor Zubin Mehta. In late 1993, McDougal was charged with embezzling money from Mehta, and began preparing her defense against the charges [3].

In August 5, 1994, Ken Starr became Independent Counsel to prosecute Whitewater participants, including Susan McDougal[4]. Federal trial began in 1996. During that trial, the government's star witness, Arkansas banker and former municipal judge David Hale, claimed that then-Governor Bill Clinton had discussed an illegal $300,000 loan with himself and McDougal. Hale was himself under investigation for having defrauded the Small Business Administration out of $3.2 million. He also unsuccessfully sought to have his brother, Milas Hale corroborate his testimony against Clinton[5].

McDougal was convicted on May 28, 1996, and spent time in prison for four counts of fraud and conspiracy relating to the Whitewater scandal -- but her prison term did not begin until March 7, 1998, nearly two years later, for reasons discussed next.

After his conviction in 1996, but before sentencing, James McDougal began cooperating with the Office of Independent Counsel (OIC), and tried to persuade his former wife to do the same to avoid a prison sentence. Her defense lawyer, Mark Geragos, said McDougal's ex-husband told her that deputy independent counsel W. Hickman Ewing Jr. would be able to "get Clinton with a sex charge" before the 1996 election if she agreed to lie and say she had had an affair with Clinton. She denies ever having an affair with Clinton[6]. Ewing told reporters during a break in the proceedings that he never heard of such a plan. "I never talked to Jim McDougal about that, and I wouldn't. I never heard any discussion along those lines in my office ever at the time frame she's talking about," Ewing said.

Susan McDougal refused her ex-husband's suggestion, and the sentencing hearing began August 19, 1996. After the judge levied a sentence of two years in federal prison, but before she left the courtroom, Starr had Susan McDougal served with a subpeona for another Whitewater grand jury, to begin two weeks later[7].

[edit] Whitewater Grand Jury and Civil Contempt of Court

During the grand jury, McDougal stated her full name "for the record," then refused to answer any questions. In her book, McDougal states her rationale as "I feared being accused of perjury if I told the grand jury the truth. The OIC had accepted David Hale's lies as the truth. They were also now relying on Jim McDougal's lies, which they'd carefully helped him construct. If I came in and directly contradicted those two -- whose testimony had been used to convict me of four felonies -- I feared the OIC would next accuse me of perjury." McDougal writes she feared the same fate as Julie Hiatt Steele [8] who had contradicted the testimony of White House aide Kathleen Willey: "Simply telling the truth cost Steele everything she had, almost landed her in jail [for perjury], and jeopardized her custody of her adopted son." [9]

Her grand jury testimony included the response "Get another independent counsel and I'll answer every question." [10]. Publicly, she was castigated for refusing to answer "three questions" [11] about whether President Bill Clinton lied in his testimony during her Whitewater trial, particularly when he denied any knowledge of an illegal $300,000 loan. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Webber Wright sentenced her for civil contempt of court.

From September 9, 1996 until March 6, 1998, McDougal spent the maximum possible 18 months in prison for civil contempt, including 8 months in solitary confinement, and subjected to "'diesel therapy'-- the time-honored prosecutorial tradition of hauling defendants around the country and placing them in different jails along the way." In her case, from Arkansas to "Los Angeles to the Oklahoma City transfer center, and then on to the Pulaski County Jail in Little Rock, Arkansas." [12].

[edit] After Civil Contempt of Court Incarceration

Immediately afterward, on March 7, 1998, she began serving the two-year sentence for her conviction in 1996[13]. Soon after, the OIC indicted McDougal on criminal contempt-of-court charges, and charged her with obstruction of justice.

After serving four months on the Whitewater fraud conviction, McDougal was released for medical reasons[14].

After her release, McDougal's embezzlement trial in California began. McDougal was acquitted of all twelve counts of embezzlement [15] later in 1998. A suit in 1999 against Nancy Mehta for malicious prosecution was settled out of court [16].

McDougal's trial for criminal contempt-of-court and obstructon of justice charges began in March 1999. The jury hung 7-5 in favor of acquittal for contempt of court, and found her not guilty on the charge of obstruction of justice[17].

McDougal received a full Presidential pardon from outgoing President Bill Clinton in the final hours of his presidency in 2001. (See List of people pardoned by Bill Clinton)

McDougal now works as an advocate for prison reform. Her brother, Jim Henley, ran in and lost the 2006 election for Texas' US Congressional District 7. Susan made an appearance and a speech at the announcement of his candidacy.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.172
  2. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.140-146
  3. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.149-150
  4. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.160
  5. ^ Brother on brother, Murray Waas for Salon magazine, Nov 1998 [1]
  6. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.205
  7. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.213
  8. ^ Starr won't retry McDougal or Steele, CNN, May 25, 1999 [2]
  9. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.220
  10. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.314
  11. ^ The trials and tribulations of Susan McDougal, CNN, April 12, 1999[3]
  12. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.263-264, 307-308
  13. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.306
  14. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.322-326
  15. ^ Jury finds McDougal not guilty of all charges, CNN, Nov 23, 1998. [4]
  16. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.338
  17. ^ The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk, ISBN-10: 078671302X, Susan McDougal et al. 2003, p.367-368

[edit] See also

[edit] External links