SANTA MONICA, California (AllPolitics, November 24) -- A jury Monday found Susan McDougal not guilty of embezzlement, but the legal troubles of the former business partner and friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton are far from over.

McDougal, 44, still faces a trial on contempt of court charges for refusing to testify about President Clinton before the Whitewater grand jury. That trial begins February 16 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Susan McDougal waves to supporters outside the courthouse Monday

But on Monday, she had good news, when a jury found her not guilty on nine counts of embezzlement and failure to file tax returns after a 10-week trial.

Though the case was unrelated to the Whitewater matter, McDougal called the verdict a victory in all her legal problems and reiterated her contention that she is being pressured by Whitewater special prosecutor Ken Starr to change her testimony about Bill Clinton's involvement in Whitewater.

"Everything that's happened to me in recent years has been about Bill Clinton," McDougal said Monday.

"They want me to say things against Bill and Hillary Clinton," she said. "People say to me, 'Are you scared of Ken Starr?' He'd better be scared of me because I'm on my way back."

McDougal was accused of stealing $50,000 from conductor Zubin Mehta and his wife, Nancy, while working as their bookkeeper and personal assistant between 1989 and 1992.

Jurors in the embezzlement case were warned by Superior Court Judge Leslie Light not to consider McDougal's Whitewater involvement or possible ulterior motives by prosecutors.

But outside the jury's presence, defense attorney Mark Geragos said Starr had promised to make the embezzlement charges go away if his client would testify against the Clintons. When she refused, he alleged, Starr "propped up" the case and urged prosecutors to move on the defendant.

Starr's office said in a statement the California charges were brought before the appointment of any Whitewater independent counsel and were unrelated.

McDougal 'overcome' by verdict

"I'm truly overcome," McDougal said after Monday's verdict. "I didn't think this day would ever come ... I stand here an innocent person."

"The jurors saw through it," McDougal said after being acquitted. "I never thought the jury would get it. I thought it was a very hard case for them to understand why the Mehtas would have pursued it."

McDougal mouthed "thank you" to the jury of nine women and three men as the judge delivered his final instructions after the verdict was read. The jurors received the case last Wednesday afternoon, after 10 weeks of testimony.

Several jurors called the lengthy trial a waste of taxpayers' money. "As time went on I became more and more indignant," juror Nancy Nieman said. "I was very disturbed that it came to trial. I don't know how this got through the system."

They said they abided by Judge Light's order to "wash Whitewater from our minds." The also said Mrs. Mehta, who testified that McDougal forged checks and credit card receipts without her knowledge, was not believable.

"There were too many holes in her story," said the jury foreman, Rufus Gifford. "I simply didn't believe she didn't know what was going on."

The Mehtas originally accused McDougal of stealing $150,000, mostly by using a joint credit card to make unauthorized purchases. Judge Light threw out three of the 12 charges on November 12, and said the prosecution had failed to prove McDougal could have embezzled any more than $50,000.

On unrelated charges, McDougal spent 18 months in jail for previously refusing to testify before a Whitewater grand jury, and served 14 weeks for fraud-related felonies involving a $300,000 loan.

Tuesday, November 24, 1998

• Democratic fund-raiser gets probation, fine
• Judge throws out 8 1/2 counts against Espy
• Pardon, not censure, for turkey at the White House
• Sources: GOP head count shows impeachment one vote ahead
• No independent counsel for Gore
• Reno's statement on Gore decision
• McDougal jubilant after jury finds her not guilty
• Starr: dealing with Tripp flawed
• Sen. Hagel eyes GOP campaign post
• Congressman makes Chicago mayoral bid
• Low-key Clyburn can be aggressive
• Friend says opponent confessed to killing state senator
• Government said to lag in Y2K fix

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