SCANDAL SCORECARD Saturday,January 20,2001

In the beginning there was Whitewater. Whitewater begat Travelgate, which begat Filegate, which begat Charlie Trie and Paula Jones, and finally Monicagate.

What a long strange trip it's been. Here are the key probes of the Clinton presidency and what happened to some of the key players, as compiled by Andy Geller:

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WHITEWATER: A real estate development 100 miles north of Little Rock, Ark., whose partners included James and Susan McDougal, Webster Hubbell and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton. At his post-election press conference on Nov. 7, 1992, Clinton deflected questions about Whitewater and promised: "We will have the most ethical administration in our nation's history." He was soon accused of ordering an improper $300,000 federal loan to Susan

McDougal.

TRAVELGATE: Hillary Clinton was accused of having a role in the 1993 firing of employees of the White House travel office, which makes arrangements for the press to accompany the president on official trips. Critics accused the White House of tarnishing the workers' reputations to justify giving them the ax.

FILEGATE: The Clinton White House was accused of illegally ordering up sensitive FBI background files on Republicans. The flap occurred after congressional Republicans discovered in June 1996 the administration requisitioned the file of Billy Ray Dale, former head of the White House travel office. The next day, the White House returned three boxes containing hundreds of confidential files.

THE CHARLE TRIE AFFAIR: As the Clintons' legal bills piled up, they established a legal defense fund, which landed them in hot water when it was revealed Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie, an Arkansas friend of the First Couple, gave them a paper sack filled with more than $100,000 in checks. The Clintons' fund-raising efforts led to accusations that they were selling access to the Lincoln bedroom.

PAULA JONES AND L'AFFAIR LEWINSKY: Paula Jones, a former Arkansas government clerk, charges that Clinton sexually harassed her in 1986 in a Little Rock hotel room. Jones' lawyers produced other women who supported the accusations. Clinton's most devastating setback came when Jones' lawyers learned in 1997 that Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern, said she had an affair with the president. Lewinsky told a friend, Linda Tripp, who worked for the administration, and Tripp taped the conversations. Clinton denied the affair under oath in a deposition to Jones' lawyers.

PRESIDENT CLINTON: On Aug. 17, 1998, the president was questioned before a grand jury convened by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. He admitted on TV: "I did have a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was not appropriate." Starr delivered a report to Congress saying he has found "substantial and credible information . . . that may constitute grounds for impeachment."

On Dec. 19, Clinton was impeached by the House on two articles of perjury and obstruction of justice. On Feb. 12, 1999, the Senate voted to acquit Clinton of impeachment charges. On the eve of his leaving office, Clinton struck a deal with prosecutors under which his legal license will be suspended for five years and he will pay a $25,000 fine.

MONICA LEWINSKY: Having served as a sometime anchorwoman for British television, Monica is now running an online handbag boutique in New York.

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON: She was cleared in the Whitewater, Travelgate and Filegate probes. On Nov. 7, she was elected the junior senator from New York.

PAULA JONES: Clinton paid her $850,000 to settle her suit. She got a nose job.

SUSAN McDOUGAL: Served 18 months behind bars for refusing to cooperate with investigator Starr and then began serving a two-year sentence for fraud in the Whitewater case.

CHARLIE TRIE: Told a congressional panel he parlayed his friendship with Clinton into lucrative business contacts in Asia and illegally sent $1.2 million from foreigners to the Democratic Party. Convicted of improper fund raising.

LINDA TRIPP: On the second-to-last day of the Clinton administration, she was fired.

The real legacy of Clinton’s Scamalot administration

-- Ain't Gonna Happen (Not Here Not@ever.com), January 22, 2001