ARKANSAS GOV. CHARGED IN WHITEWATER PROBE

The Whitewater grand juryindicted Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker and two others on charges of lying to obtain $300,000 in business loans for their personal use.Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starrmade the announcement as part of his broadening investigation into prominent Arkansas officials connected to President Clinton's business partner, James McDougal. Although Tucker served as Clinton's lieutenant governor, the two have never been business partners or even friends, saysTIME Washington economics correspondent Suneel Ratan. "Most people have regarded the Tucker case as separate from the Clinton investigation. The two weren't close, and Tucker may not know anything about the Clintons." But investigators hope Tucker will lead them to bigger fish. "S&L investigators generally follow bottom-up strategies, squeezing someone to get information on the next higher-up," says Ratan. "What they hope is that Tucker can give them something on McDougal."