The Week March 20-26

NATION

Clinton's Whitewater Offensive

In a bold attempt to contain the damage from the Whitewater affair, President Clinton went on the offensive at a nationally televised news conference to state that while he intended to cooperate "fully" with the special counsel and any congressional investigation, he also intended to stay "preoccupied with the business we were sent here to do for the American people." Responding to fresh allegations of wrongdoing -- leveled on the floor of the House by Republican Jim Leach -- the President categorically denied having tried to suppress a federal investigation of the S&L at the center of the Whitewater affair. To underline his contention that he had done nothing wrong in the real estate venture, the President publicly released his tax returns for 1977, 1978 and 1979.

Meanwhile ...

The Whitewater grand jury in Washington continued to hear testimony from Administration officials. And the special counsel obtained cooperation, as part of a plea bargain on non-Whitewater fraud charges, from an Arkansas businessman and former judge who says Clinton pressured him to make questionable loans. The President denies this accusation too.

And Then ...

The White House lawyer responsible for screening Administration job applicants fell victim to his own "Zoe Baird problem." William Kennedy III -- yet another of Hillary Rodham Clinton's beleaguered former law partners -- was reassigned following the revelation that he had only belatedly paid 1991 and 1992 Social Security taxes for his family's nanny.

Closing In on Smokers

The FDA and now the Labor Department are on the offensive. Testifying before Congress, FDA commissioner David Kessler said his agency was considering regulating tobacco as a drug. Labor Secretary Robert Reich moved to prohibit smoking in all workplaces, including factories, office buildings, restaurants and schools. Meanwhile Philip Morris, the nation's largest cigarette manufacturer, laid a whopping $10 billion libel suit on ABC television for reporting that cigarette makers deliberately manipulate nicotine levels in cigarettes in order to keep smokers hooked.

Health Reform: A Qualified Yes

By a 6-to-5 vote, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health passed a watered-down version of the President's health-care plan, one that would provide a more modest benefits package but still guarantee universal coverage and require employers to pay for most of their workers' insurance.

Appropriations Spurt?

Choosing an aggressive liberal activist, House Democrats voted Wisconsin's David Obey as the new head of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Pollard Stays Behind Bars

On the recommendation of the CIA and the Defense and Justice departments, President Clinton denied clemency to convicted spy Jonathan Pollard, whose life sentence for passing top-secret documents to Israel had been targeted as excessive by some Jewish groups and members of Congress.

Rodney King, Part III

Rodney King's civil suit against Los Angeles got under way with the battered motorist seeking $9 million in damages from the city. King rejected the city's offer of a $1.25 million settlement.

Two Deadly Accidents