Log Cabin Democrat: Clinton name dropping unavoidable in McDougal's embezzlement trial 11/3/98

Published Tuesday, November 03, 1998

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Tuesday, November 3, 1998Clinton name dropping unavoidable in McDougal's embezzlement trial

Last modified at 11:59 a.m. on Tuesday, November 3, 1998

By LINDA DEUTSCH

AP Special Correspondent

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Try as he might, the judge in Susan McDougal's embezzlement trial was unable to keep President Clinton's name out of the court record as the defendant testified for a fourth day.

After Ms. McDougal twice brought up her former husband's association with Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas, Superior Court Judge Leslie Light sent jurors out of the courtroom and ordered an end to the presidential name dropping.

''We've reached a point where any juror who didn't know about the connection of the defendant to Gov. Clinton and Arkansas knows now,'' said the judge. ''We're not here to discuss any relations of anyone with Gov. Clinton or land deal promotions in Arkansas.''

Ms. McDougal's lawyer, Mark Geragos quickly dropped the line of questioning. But when prosecutor Jeffrey Semow took over, the cross examination came perilously close to opening up the issue of Whitewater, a failed land deal involving Clinton, the first lady and the McDougals.

''I don't want to hear anymore about Whitewater!'' the judge exclaimed outside the jury's presence.

Semow had just spent the better part of an hour quizzing Ms. McDougal on why she didn't pay back a $300,000 federal loan connected with the Whitewater real estate project.

The judge said the entire line of questioning appeared designed to portray her as ''a bad person'' because she didn't pay a debt -- a tactic he said was inadmissible and irrelevant.

The embezzlement case charges Ms. McDougal with stealing $150,000 while working as a bookkeeper for conductor Zubin Mehta and his wife Nancy from 1989-92.

Log Cabin Democrat

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