
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 6, 1994                   TAG: 9403060040
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

WHITE HOUSE ATTORNEY RESIGNS OVER WHITEWATER DEAL

White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum resigned Saturday, a casualty of turmoil over the Clinton administration's handling of questions related to the Whitewater land deal.

"I now believe I can best serve you by returning to private life," Nussbaum said in a letter to President Clinton that reflected a mix of pride and bitterness. The 57-year-old New Yorker said his resignation is effective April 5.

Clinton, indirectly acknowledging the swirling controversy over Whitewater, wrote back: "We have worked together in Washington at a time when serving is hard."

The president said he accepted the resignation with "deep regret" and praised Nussbaum's efforts, but Clinton in recent days had made no effort to defend his counsel against mounting criticism.

An administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the White House hoped to move quickly to name a successor, adding that there had already been "informal conversations" about a replacement.

There was little indication that Nussbaum's departure would put an end to persistent questions - and harsh criticism from Republicans - over how the White House has responded to the investigation of a failed Arkansas savings and loan with ties to the Clintons.

Special Counsel Robert Fiske is investigating the failure of Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan Association and whether investors in the Whitewater land venture in Arkansas - including the Clintons - benefited from questionable Madison transactions during the 1980s.

Late Friday, Nussbaum and five other top White House officials were subpoenaed at Fiske's request regarding White House contacts with Treasury Department officials about the status of the investigation. Earlier in the week, it had been revealed that Nussbaum and other White House staff members met with Treasury officials last fall to discuss the inquiry.

Clinton, sensitive to criticism that the White House was meddling in an independent investigation, has said the meetings should not have occurred and made it clear he was unhappy with Nussbaum's handling of the affair. However, he said there had been no outright wrongdoing in the conduct of the meetings.

by CNB