He was also involved in handling the early stages of the Whitewater matter, an investigation into an unsuccessful Arkansas real estate investment made by the Clintons years earlier, and the investigation of the suicide of his deputy, Vincent Foster. Contrary to the advice of others on the White House staff, in the administration, and in Congress, Nussbaum strongly urged the President not to seek the appointment of an Independent Counsel with respect to these matters. He maintained there was no legal basis for such an appointment, as there was no evidence of wrongdoing by the President, either before or after he entered office. He warned the president that the institution of the Independent Counsel, which is responsible to no one, tends to become an uncontrolled, never ending effort to find wrongdoing even where none exists. He predicted that conservative judges would replace anyone who was appointed by the Attorney General with a choice more to their liking. He predicted the investigation would likely last as long as the President was in office and beyond. Consequently, he argued, despite media and congressional pressure, in addition to their being no legal basis, it also made no political sense to request such an appointment.