Unpopular choice

Washington - Senior White House aides attempted to reverse the appointment of a prominent Republican figure as chief investigator into the savings and loan bank at the heart of the Whitewater affair, writes David Usborne.

The Washington Post reported that George Stephanopoulos and another top aide of President Bill Clinton objected in telephone calls to senior officials of the Treasury Department when they discovered that former judge, Jay Stephens, had been selected to lead the inquiry into the failure of the Madison Guaranty Bank in Arkansas. However, they did not pursue the matter when told nothing could be done.