President Clinton sat before video cameras again Sunday for another Whitewater trial, this time testifying in the case of two Arkansas bankers accused of making political contributions with bank funds.
After attending morning church services with daughter Chelsea, the president returned to the White House for two hours and 20 minutes of closed-door questioning by attorneys for Herby Branscum Jr. and Robert M. Hill and cross-examination by prosecutors.Afterward, the White House issued a statement reiterating that Clinton is not the first president to testify in a criminal trial and citing U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright's order that officials not discuss Clinton's deposition until after it is shown in court.
"The president has consistently stated that he will provide the court with whatever information he can offer, and today's deposition fulfills that promise," the statement said.
Branscum and Hill are accused of reimbursing themselves for contributions to political candidates - including Clinton in 1990 when he ran for governor and in 1991 when he considered seeking the presidency - with funds from their Perryville, Ark., bank.
While Clinton is not charged with wrongdoing, the White House hoped Sunday to minimize political damage from his second testimony before a federal judge in 10 weeks. In April, the president testified for just over four hours in the Whitewater trial of Gov. Jim Guy Tucker and James and Susan McDougal, all of whom were convicted.
The president's critics said Sunday that the sight of Clinton testifying again over Whitewater sends a message to the nation that he isn't being honest about his involvement.
"When's Bill Clinton going to stand up before the American people and tell them the truth?" Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Republican Conference, said on CNN's "Late Edition." "The public needs to be able to trust the president."
Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and member of the now-defunct Senate Whitewater Committee, defended Clinton, telling CNN that the president did not abuse his power of office - unlike the "direct presidential involvement in the abuse of power" of the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration.
"There is nothing to suggest that either Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton has done anything wrong," Simon said. "I think we've wasted a lot of money and I don't think the American people have gotten anything out of it."
Testimony began at 12 noon MST in the Map Room on the ground floor of the White House.