CONGRESS HAS WHITEWATER ROLE.(MAIN)

Special Counsel Robert Fiske has asked Congress not to conduct hearings into the Whitewater affair until after he has completed his owninvestigation.

We can appreciate Mr. Fiske's concern that a congressional investigation might compromise his work. But since he is not expected to have completed his inquiry for two years -- perhaps longer -- the American people will essentially be kept in the dark at least until that time about what may be a very pressing matter.

The special counsel no doubt has learned from the Iran-Contra hearings how a congressional inquiry can undermine a special prosecutor's efforts to obtain convictions even when the evidence …