WASHINGTON, D.C. : Whitewater Witness to Shun Senate Panel

Key witness David Hale told the Senate Whitewater Committee that he will not testify in the panel’s year-old investigation. Hale, whose testimony was central to the Whitewater trial in Little Rock, Ark., said he has been threatened with prosecution by Arkansas authorities. Any Senate testimony he gives could be used against him, he said. Hale’s refusal to cooperate is a blow to Republicans and could signal the end to Senate Whitewater hearings. The jury in Little Rock has finished six days of deliberations with no resolution of the case against Gov. Jim Guy Tucker and President Clinton’s former business partners.