Susan McDougal Asks Court To Open Whitewater Grand Jury Testimony

Whitewater figure Susan McDougal is asking a federal judge to unseal grand jury testimony in the 1990s investigation of her Arkansas business dealings with former President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

McDougal was convicted of federal felony counts in a probe that produced no charges against the Clintons. She was acquitted in a second indictment of obstruction of justice after she refused twice to talk to the Whitewater grand jury about the Clintons, though she was jailed for 18 months for contempt.

In a federal court filing Tuesday, McDougal said the records initially were closed by U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. "owing to the delicate nature of the proceedings." She says the reasons for sealing the records are no longer valid.

McDougal says a movie will be produced about her role in the Whitewater investigation and that she needs the grand jury testimony for research. McDougal and her late husband, James McDougal, were involved in the real estate business with the Clintons before he became president in 1993. The McDougals were convicted during the Clinton administration, and she served two months of a two-year term. James McDougal died in prison.

Susan McDougal also served 18 months in jail for civil contempt based on her refusal to answer grand jury questions. She then was indicted on criminal counts for refusing to talk to the grand jury in 1996 and 1998. At the time, she said she thought she'd be charged with perjury unless she falsely implicated her friends the Clintons.

A federal jury acquitted her in 1999 of an obstruction of justice charge, but deadlocked on two contempt counts. She was not retried, and Clinton pardoned her before he left office in 2001.