Rather considers the Whitewater scandal as merely a partisan "Republican offensive" and that to investigate it is to go against the will of "the public."

See also Kenneth Starr.

"The Republicans are finally getting what they wanted. The House Banking Committee opened hearings today on Whitewater and the Clinton administration. What the Republicans are not getting is an opportunity to ask many of the questions they wanted to ask--questions that could embarrass the president. Our coverage begins with chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, July 26, 1994

"A surprise development in the Whitewater case tonight: A new man is now in charge of the investigation. A federal court today named former US solicitor general Kenneth Starr as independent counsel. Starr is a Bush-Reagan Republican. He will take over the investigation begun by Robert Fiske. Fiske, also a Republican, was appointed by Attorney General Reno as what's called a 'special counsel' at a time when no, and this is in quotation marks, 'independent counsel law,' unquote, was in effect." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, August 05, 1994

"In Washington, the Whitewater tag-team offensive by Republicans in Congress is winding down, at least for now. In the Senate, more heat but no real new light today as former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum repeatedly denied any lawbreaking or cover-up on his part following the death of presidential aide Vincent Foster. In the House, today's hearings revisited questions about the Rose Law Firm in Arkansas, where Hillary Clinton used to work." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, August 10, 1995

"Republicans in Congress mounted yet another Whitewater tag-team attack today. They got some potentially damaging testimony, and that ran straight into a Democratic counterwave: complaints of alleged Republican shady tactics and guilt by innuendo. Chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer is on the Whitewater watch." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, August 08, 1995

"Republicans launched yet another Whitewater attack in Congress today, revisiting issues and questions in tag-team hearings--not just in the Senate, but now in the House as well. Chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer has the latest from Capitol Hill." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, August 07, 1995

"In Washington tonight, they're asking the question: Have the gun lobby and its Republican allies in Congress shot themselves in the foot? Here's the reason the question is being asked. For days, Democrats, among others, have insisted that the leadership of the National Rifle Association and private armed militia groups are using congressional hearings this week into the disastrous raid near Waco as a smokescreen--a smokescreen to bash federal law-enforcement officers, President Clinton and the new law controlling rapid-fire assault weapons. Now the Democrats say there is proof. Correspondent Jim Stewart has the story and the tape recording cited as evidence." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, July 17, 1995

"And this is just for starters on a tough week ahead for President Clinton and his agenda. From another offensive wave on Whitewater to a sweeping rollback of federal regulations on health, safety and the environment, it's a political carpet-bombing attack wall to wall, House to Senate. CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer is here now to run down the players and the scorecard. Bob." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, July 17, 1995

"President Clinton's new offensive on affirmative action coincides with the launch of a new Republican offensive today on Whitewater--a new round of hearings in the US Senate to reraise old questions. Our chief Washington correspondent, Bob Schieffer, has the latest." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, July 18, 1995

"In the Senate, the second day of the Republicans' renewed Whitewater offensive produced new partisan political sparks and revisited the depression and death of White House aide Vincent Foster. Chief CBS News Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer has the latest on that." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, July 19, 1995

"Here on Capitol Hill, the opening of the Republican offensive to investigate the Branch Davidian tragedy near Waco did produce disturbing firsthand testimony today. As the hearing opened, critics heard very little of what they hoped would heap scorn on federal peace officers. Instead, they were stopped cold by a teen-ager's chilling inside account of life with David Koresh. Jim Stewart reports." --Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, July 19, 1995 Ø

"The public may long ago have tired of the whole Whitewater business, but Starr hasn't."
--Dan Rather in his syndicated column, September 16, 1998.

"The Clinton's former Whitewater partner [Susan McDougall] is taken in chains to the Ken Starr grand jury."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, April 23, 1998.
Note: Susan McDougall was wearing hand- and anklecuffs.

"First Lady Hillary Clinton targeted by leaks in the Republican Whitewater offensive."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, June 17, 1996.

"There's no question that [Clinton] had extremely intense scrutiny on this issue [Whitewater]. No one can argue that anybody in the press, Right, Left, Center, Above or Below, has failed to cover everything in Whitewater to the maximum extent and continue to do so. And the same thing with these new and what I consider to be very serious questions about campaign contributions."
--Dan Rather at the National Press Club Foundation's awards dinner, February 27, 1997.
Note: One week later, CBS did not to report the March 4 issuing of subpoenas to White House staff for documents on hush money payments to Webster Hubbell.

"Good Evening. The President and Mrs. Clinton came under new and strategically aimed political fire today on two fronts. Republicans raised new questions about First Lady Hillary Clinton in selectively leaked tapes from the congressional leadership on Capitol Hill -- recordings of personal prison phone calls made by Mrs. Clinton's former law partner Webster Hubbell."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, Friday, May 1 1998.

"Okay, Bob. A CBS News poll out tonight suggests growing public awareness, and some growing concern, about fast and loose campaign fund-raising by both parties. Three-quarters of the people we surveyed said the Democrats' 1996 fund-raising practices were common to Republicans as well. 40 percent said they attach great importance to the fund-raising investigation -- much more so than Whitewater [on screen: 18%], but a lot less than Watergate crimes of the Nixon White House [on-screen 53%]."
--Dan Rather speaking to Bob Schieffer on the CBS Evening News about a poll on the, March 10, 1997.

Robert Fiske, then the Whitewater Special Prosecutor, issued an interim report favorable to President Clinton:
"For now, at least, President Clinton and his aides are entitled to say, 'We told you so.'"
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, June 30, 1994.

"Good evening, the Republican special prosecutor in the Whitewater case is naming a trusted friend and senior adviser to President Clinton as a quote 'unindicted co-conspirator.' This is in connection with an Arkansas criminal trial. Bruce Lindsey now stands accused, but not indicted....Still unclear -- what's behind this tactic of the prosecutor."
   "Bill, this unindicted co-conspirator tactic. Does it mean prosecutor Starr doesn't actually have the goods on Lindsey and wants to turn him to the prosecution's side, or wants to evoke Nixon-Watergate memories. What is the reading there?"
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, June 19, 1996.

"Ken Starr's efforts to send a longtime friend of President Clinton back to prison failed today. A federal judge dismissed new tax evasion charges against Webster Hubbell. And the judge sharpy criticized the tactics Starr used against Hubbell in the special prosecutor's efforts to get incriminating information about the President and Mrs. Clinton."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, July 1, 1998.
Note: Rather chose an interesting way to describe the act of investigating wrongdoing, "efforts to get incriminating information."

"The President's old friend Web Hubbell, under the microscope again of Republican special prosecutor Kenneth Starr..."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, March 6, 1997.

"On another front, there could be trouble for the Ken Starr Whitewater investigation. Reports continue to surface that this key witness for the prosecution, David Hale, may have been secretly bankrolled by political activists widely regarded as political opponents, people that Clinton supporters call Republican haters from the far Right."
--Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, April 2, 1998
Note: The Washington Post a year later reported a special judicial investigation into whether opponents of the Clintons actually gave support or cash payments to David Hale to influence his testimony. It was concluded that many of the allegations of such payments were "unsubstantiated" and "in some cases, untrue," and that no criminal prosecution should be brought. Rather reported the accusation against Starr but not investigation's findings. print_file('footer'); ?>