On national television on August 17, 1998, President Bill Clinton addressed the country about his testimony before the Office of Independent Council investigation led by Kenneth Starr, which raised charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power. Clinton was the first president to be called to testify in this way. The investigation stemmed from earlier accusations that Clinton, then Arkansas’s attorney general, and wife Hillary, along with James and Susan McDougal, defrauded investment firms as part of the failed land development project known as the Whitewater Development Corporation in 1978. Concerning those accusations, the Clintons denied any wrongdoing, and no charges were filed.