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Black Sand Beach
(Cine) Beach
Black Sand Beach
Beach ***
August 3, 1994 - Part 1
(09:50:43) This entire issue revolves around meetings that I understood were on the issue of handling press inquiries about the Madison Guaranty referral, or on the procedures that the RTC would follow in pursuing civil claims. There are differing recollections, but they are about actions that two independent investigations tell us broke no criminal law and violated no ethical standard. I have turned the Treasury Department upside down. I have turned my memory inside out. We went through thousands and thousands of documents. And I cannot find one written briefing to me on these White House meetings, not one. It was not until March 3rd that I learned the extent of these meetings. I issued a statement about the meetings and said that I had not attended them and did not know about them. I maybe walled off from most RTC matters, but I am responsible for what happens at the Treasury Department and I accept that responsibility. And that is why I asked immediately for the Office of Government Ethics to examine these contacts. They are a nonpartisan agency. They are the experts. And preparing for this hearing, I agreed to the Committee request to avoid looking at materials regarding the case until I gave my deposition to the Committee Staff. I agreed to that request, although it sure frustrated me, because I wanted to wade into this and find out all I could. I had to wait over 4 months to start looking at these papers. After I gave my deposition last week, I sat down and began to read through the material. I saw nothing that changes my recollection. Let me lay out for you what my basic recollection is about these matters. First, I read in the press, some time in October, about criminal referrals and Madison Guaranty. Second, on February 1st, Roger Altman and Jean Hanson came to my office. Roger told me he was thinking of recusing himself. And the other subject that came up was the legislation on extending the statute of limitations, Later that month, Roger told me he decided not to recuse himself On February 23rd, I met with Roger and Jean Hanson briefly, in advance of the RTC Oversight Hearing the 24th. I again told Roger Altman the recusal issue was a personal issue for him. On the 25th of February, I learned that Roger had testified the day before as to one meeting with people from the White House, 7 I had been at that meeting. I left to go to a working lunch with some CEO's. I did not hear his testimony because I was not here at that point. On March 3rd, I read in the press about two additional meetings, It was then that I asked for the OGE examination of the contacts and issued my statement. Now I would like to review the subsequent events. Our Treasury Department Inspector General's office was asked to support the Office of Government Ethics examination. Mr. Fiske, the Independent Counsel, was already looking at this from the standpoint of criminal statutes. After I asked the Office of Government Ethics to examine the ethics issues involved, Mr. Fiske asked the Treasury Inspector General to suspend his work while Mr. Fiske's investigation was underway. And the Office of Government Ethics also independently decided it would hold off until Mr. Fiske's work was complete so as not to interfere. Now I want to point out the lengths to which Treasury Department, at my direction, went to cooperate with Mr. Fiske, with the Inspector General, and with the Congressional Committees. Every scrap of paper that remotely looked like it might conceivably have some relation to the Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan or to contacts with the White House was turned over to various investigators, something on the order of 6,500 pages.
August 3, 1994 - Part 1
(09:55:34) We went through hundreds of thousands of documents with investigators to find the ones they needed. We used extra warehouse space to hold back our trash. I brought in professional investigators from the IRS to go through the top offices of the Treasury, mine included. We removed computers from the offices of those involved, including those used by the support staff, had experts go through them to find anything that would be useful. They worked around the clock quite literally. We searched offices nationwide to see what could be found, and my staff was always promptly available to Mr. Fiske, the IG and the Congressional investigators to answer questions. Now when Mr. Fiske completed his report on this phase of the examination, and concluded that no criminal laws were broken, I asked the Office of Government Ethics to complete its examination of the contacts and report back to me. Over the past weekend, I received the Office of Government Ethics' report. I released it to the public. And then I sent it to the President's Counsel. I also sent it to every Member of this Committee and the House Banking Committee, The Office of Government Ethics, after a careful analysis of the independently gathered facts, says I can conclude that those working at the Treasury did not, repeat, did not violate any of the standards of ethical conduct for employees of the Executive Branch of Government. I heard a Senator say something the other day that stuck with me. He said that, in this town, an allegation is synonymous with conviction without benefit of a trial or a hearing. Clearly, in retrospect, it might have been better if some of these meetings or contacts had not taken place, or had occurred in a dif- 8 ferent context. But when you boil it down, no criminal law was broken, and the people who work at Treasury did not violate the ethical standards. And no one at Treasury intervened in any way or interfered in any RTC action. The Office of Government Ethics report did say it was troubled by some of the contacts. And it raised important issues that I believe should be addressed. The Office of Government Ethics said it appeared that there were misconceptions by Treasury officials that may have contributed to the contacts. Those include a possible lack of appreciation of the difference between a Treasury function and one belonging to the Resolution Trust Corporation and what rules apply. They also include a misconception about the standard on the use of nonpublic information, and a misconception about the function of a recusal. Those are very good points. I would point out the unique situation in which these contacts occurred no longer exists. Mr. Altman is no longer Acting CEO of the RTC. And there no longer are lines of responsibility here that could give rise to misconceptions about job functions and the rules that apply. So the possibility for the jumbling of roles and a confusion about the rules has been greatly lessened. I have only had this report for -a few days. I am not going to make any knee- jerk reaction to what clearly are complex issues involving management of Treasury functions. I want to reserve judgment on that. I am not going to make my decisions in the heat of debate. I will study this information, and any thoughts the Committee might have, and take whatever steps I consider appropriate. Now before I conclude my testimony, I want to remind the Committee of one important point. The Treasury Department has a law enforcement role, as do a number of other Government agencies. It is critical that the Department be able to communicate with other agencies and the White House when necessary, Let me give you some examples.
Waikiki Beach
Waikiki Beach. Young men walk by, then young women in opposite direction and one girl looks over her shoulder at guys.
August 3, 1994 - Part 1
(10:00:09) The White House may need to know that the Secret Service is investigating a crime in which a visiting dignitary is involved. Or the ATF might have an arms export case involving high officials of this Government, or of a foreign country. Clearly, there is a legitimate need to discuss matters in the proper forums with the proper individuals, There must be a mechanism in which public officials can communicate with one another without fear that they are stepping over the line. We have seen how grey areas can be-where there is one set of rules at the RTC, another at Treasury. And we have seen how there sometimes is no bright, white line that gives public officials the guidance they need. I intend to work with the Attorney General or Inspector General, the Office of Government Ethics, and what ever this Committee might suggest insofar as remedies that would offer our employees better guidance. And it should be clear for our officials how to handle the issue of confidential information as it regards press inquiries. 9 Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, two quick points in closing. First, I have been in public service for nearly 30 years. I have seen everything from McCarthy hearings to Watergate, IranContra, the Church Committee, all of it. What you have here is a unique confluence of circumstances that, when you strip away all the rhetoric, resulted in actions that broke no criminal law, did not violate the Ethics Rules, and did not in any way affect the Madison case. I think that when Congress concludes these hearings, Congress and Americans who have followed this matter will conclude the same. And finally, I am proud that throughout it all, the Treasury Department has continued to operate at 100 percent and done a good job. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, You mentioned, I think, a document along the way for inclusion in the record, and without objection, we will include it in the record. I want to start with the testimony before this Committee at the Oversight Hearing on February 24th. You mentioned today that at a certain point, you left that hearing, and I recall it clearly because you had another engagement and you asked to be excused. After you left, this exchange occurred with Mr. Altman that really has triggered not just these hearings, but also a complete effort by Mr. Fiske, who moved to subpoena a number of people and take them before the Grand Jury. So it was a very serious matter. We spent a long time yesterday discussing it, I think, in one way or another, every Member of this Committee found that testimony that day troubling to one degree or another. We spent a lot of time going over it. And because you were not here at the time, I think it is very important that you go over it, and perhaps you have done so. So my first question is, to you, have you had a chance to review the testimony that has kicked this off and the completeness or lack of completeness of Mr. Altman's answers that day? Secretary BENTSEN. Yes, I have. The CHAIRMAN. And do you have a comment about it or reaction to it? Secretary BENTSEN. Well that is the first I had heard of such a meeting, and frankly, it concerned me. And then very shortly thereafter, I read, I guess it was probably March 3rd, about a couple of additional meetings. And that is when I immediately called for a full investigation by the Off-ice of Government Ethics to get to the bottom of it and see what had happened. The CHAIRMAN. I think, as we listened yesterday, and I think if you, this went on until 2:00 in the morning, so I do not expect that you necessarily saw it, and there certainly is not a transcript available yet to read. But in the course of the hours of discussion with Mr. Altman, I think it is fair to say that he acknowledged that his answers, in many cases, were not as complete as they should have been, or that there was a serious difference of interpretation as to what an in 10 tended question meant and the way he chose to receive the question and respond to it. Secretary BENTSEN. That is apparently the case. The CHAIRMAN. I think that is a problem we cannot have again from anybody in the Treasury Department, whether it is Mr. Altman, Mr. Steiner, or anybody else that comes before this Committee. I frankly do not think there was an acceptable excuse for it having happened on the 24th. We have hashed that out here last night. And every Senator and the public can make their own judgments. But I must just tell you very directly, and I want to say it publicly, and not just say it to you in a private way.
Landscape, wood sculpture, Ibo Beach, D??, farming
Haiti - industry: baseballs, shoes, (manufacturing)
Haiti - industry: baseballs, shoes, (manufacturing)
Landscapes, street scenes, art, tourists,
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Haiti - hotels
Haiti - hotels
Haiti - hotels
Haiti - hotels
Haiti - Cape Hartien, sans souci, citadel, Lacmel
Haiti - Cape Hartien, sans souci, citadel, Lacmel
Haiti - industrial, dress factory
Haiti - industrial, dress factory
Haiti - industrial, dress factory
Haiti - industrial, dress factory
Haiti - tourism, kids playing flutes, outdoor school
Haiti - tourism, kids playing flutes, outdoor school
Haiti - tourism, kids playing flutes, outdoor school
Haiti - tourism, kids playing flutes, outdoor school
Preview Cassette 220165 Fiji - Samsa? cook islands
Fiji - Lodging, unloading-ship passengers
ON PREVIEW CASSETTE 95519 - Tape 2 part 2 Fiji - dancing, Cook Islands
Fiji
Preview Cassette 220165 Fiji - misc.
South Pacific - Bali - street scenes, washing clothes, funeral pyre?
South Pacific
Preview Cassette 220165 South Pacific - B & W, New Gunea, and Fiji, with titles - natives constructing ?? fishing, etc
Bali - dancing girls