Former Clinton adviser imprisoned for refusing to testify warns Nunberg of the costs

Former adviser to President Clinton Susan McDougal — who went to prison for refusing to testify during the Whitewater scandal — said that she does not understand why Sam Nunberg would risk a prison sentence by refusing to cooperate with his subpoena.

“I’m wondering when he says ‘take me to jail,’ is there no one who cares about him? Is there no one that he would look at and say, ‘I’m going to jail’ and see the hurt on their face?” McDougal told MSNBC on Tuesday.

This former Clinton adviser went to jail so she wouldn’t have to testify in the Ken Starr investigation.

She says Sam Nunberg doesn’t know what he’s asking for. Watch. pic.twitter.com/sDcbvhLl8c

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 6, 2018

McDougal was one of 15 people convicted in the Whitewater controversy after she refused to answer questions for a grand jury. She spent 22 months in jail, 18 of which were for contempt of court.

In a series of TV interviews on Monday, Nunberg, once a campaign aide for then-candidate Donald Trump, said he would be willing to risk jail time by refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by special counsel Robert Mueller.

McDougal warned Nunberg that a subpoena is no joke and that the ramifications of a prison sentence can be wide-ranging.

“I mean, there is no way I would have covered for Bill and Hillary Clinton at the expense of my mom and dad, who were elderly at the time, and my family who would hurt so much,” McDougal said. “And I just wonder why he would think that that would be OK.”

Nunberg later walked back some of his comments and said he would, in fact, cooperate with Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

“I’m going to end up cooperating with them,” he told The Associated Press.

McDougal received a full presidential pardon from President Clinton near the end of his presidency.