Court denies court costs to Clintons

WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- A three-judge panel in Washington Tuesday refused to reimburse former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., $3.5 million in attorney fees.

The fees were incurred during the six-year investigation of the Whitewater independent counsels.

The special three-judge appeals court was in charge of appointing independent counsels before Congress allowed the independent counsel law to lapse. The court said the Clintons had failed to show that they would not have incurred the expenses except for the law, which was required under the law for reimbursement.

The court did make an exception. It reimbursed the Clintons for the $85,000 in fees they spent responding to the independent counsel's final report.