Pretrial Hubbell Win For Starr

A federal judge gave Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr a pretrial victory Tuesday, dismissing a defense challenge to the fraud indictment of presidential friend Webster Hubbell.

The judge also signaled a likely delay in the June trial date of Hubbell, once an associate attorney general in the Justice Department. The case results from law work Hubbell and his former law partner, Hillary Rodham Clinton, did on an Arkansas land deal.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled that the indictment did not result from documents produced by Hubbell under an immunity agreement with Starr. Hubbell's lawyers had argued that the case was tainted by Starr's use of the documents, part of a separate case.

"I'm satisfied the grand jury that indicted Mr. Hubbell was not exposed to any" of the material produced under the immunity grant, the judge said in an oral ruling during a pretrial hearing. "It's also clear the investigation leading to the indictment ... was active and was ongoing" before Hubbell produced the documents.

Webster Hubbell (AP)

The dismissed count accused Hubbell of scheming to conceal work done by him and Mrs. Clinton on a failed Arkansas land deal known as Castle Grande. Robertson agreed with Hubbell's lawyers that the allegations were too vague.

While Robertson said he wouldn't immediately postpone the June 14 trial date, he conceded "the likelihood" of a delay while the appeal is pursued. "I will predict the case will not go to trial as scheduled in June," he said.

Robertson postponed a Wednesday deadline that would have required Starr's office to turn over its witness list to the defense.

Hubbell still remains accused of fraudulent actions in the land deal, including making "false and fraudulent" statements and representations to U.S. banking regulators. The indictment refers 36 times to Mrs. Clinton.