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Of All Things #29: Chile
August 2, 1994 - Part 10
(00:35:18) Senator SASSER. I guess what I'm trying to do is to get an as ssesment of the priorities of your time vis-a-vis the RTC during this period of time. In other words, did being interim CEO of the was that a particularly large job as far as you were concerned was it a particularly high priority on your scale of priorities? Mr. ALTMAN. I tried to take it seriously, but I had other priorities that were senior to that one. They included the economic plan.' They included the U.S.--Japan negotiations, they included the evolution of the Health Care plan, and I took 6 weeks or so off at the end of the summer last year to work full-time on the economic plan. I moved over to the White House in the so-called war room and I worked full-time for 5 or 6 weeks on it. During that time I bad nothing to do with the RTC. I couldn't Senator SASSER. Well, I just want to sort of put this in perspective. In other words, some people viewing these proceedings might come to the conclusion that you were full-time working as the act- ing CEO of the RTC, but the truth is you were devoting no more, than 3 hours a week to it, and you had all these other balls in the air simultaneously? Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, Sir. Senator SASSER. Mr. Chairman, I want to yield what time I might have remaining to Senator Kerry if that's permissible. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Kerry. Senator SASSER, Thank you, Mr. Altman. Senator KERRY. Thank you. Who I understand you yielded some time. Thank you very much. I thank him for that. Mr. Chairman I guess I might say that the last series of questions raised by the Senator from Tennessee sure raises some questions about the RTC itself and that's not what we're here for. But I just want to say it is not comforting to learn that the acting CEO was spending only a few hours and had not enough time to pay at, tention to it and that raises a separate series of question that this Committee, and 1, and some others have been deeply concerned about with respect to recoveries and the direction of this can Of worms, as it's been called. I want to go into a couple things, if I may, very quickly. I think it is obviously appropriate and within the scope that the Commit- 517 tee's instructions from the Senate which is to conduct hearings into whether improper conduct occurred with respect to contacts, to certainly determine whether there was improper conduct in those contacts with respect to testimony before this Committee. I agree with my colleague it's not the center focus or the whole focus. It's one of them, but I would ask my colleagues to be really fair in assessing the answers of the witness and the realities of this transcript as you read it. I think there are questions, very serious ones still, about the February 3 meeting and the lack of statements and the contrary evidence as to who knew about that. I think there are questions there, and we still need to make judgments about it. But I also think it is fair to the witness to read his answer to Senator Domenici in its full context. And to understand that be was talking about a substantive meaningful contact. He was-you can argue the February 3 meeting falls into that and I'm not going to discuss that now, but you cannot argue that the Maggie Williams' notation falls into that. And it seems to me that Mr. Altman has fairly suggested in his answer at the time contemporaneous with the question saying when you asked Senator Domenici, you are not suggesting you bad more than one, are you, which was specifically on the subject of RTC incidentally, not on the subject of recusal. He would then answer no, I'm just saying if you run into someone in the hall, if you see a thing in the paper this morning, I'm not including that. Now, in my judgment the Maggie Williams' communication certainly falls under that kind of casual encounter at a separate kind 'of event not calculated or scheduled for any purpose except other things and he learned something. So I think we have to be fair in were going to attach here. I think it is fair to raise questions about the February 3 meeting. I think it is certainly fair to raise another set of questions about the recusal, and I think the Senator from New Mexico and I share a concern here about what may or may not have been going on. Now, I would simply like to start by saying- and I hope my colleagues will agree with me here-the recusal is not an important issue for what did happen because nothing happened. And so when Altman says it was moot, he is, in fact, correct as to any action to interfere with the investigation.
Paul Anka "Remember Diana"
SCOPITONE Paul Anka chases after a nicely-dressed but elusive woman, who closes a gate before he can get in. She walks quickly through a rose garden, with Anka stalking her. The turgid lyrics prove unavailing as the woman waves goodbye from a balcony.
Richard Anthony " Itsi Bitsi Petit Bikini"
SCOPITONE At poolside, Richard Anthony sings this bubblegum hit in French, while we zoom into the changing cabin where the shy young woman is reluctant to come out. Funny recurring shot of another woman painting her nails in a large hat, singing the chiming chorus: "Un, deux, trois..." The bikini woman by, finally visible, and the couples on the beach look on in what might pass for astonishment or at least interest. The camera pulls back, and a heart shaped matte fills the screen as the couples walk off, arms around each other.
Richard Anthony: " Ya Ya Twist"
Scopitone of Richard Anthony performing "Ya Ya Twist." MS clean-cut singing swinger Richard Anthony, dressed in casual v-neck sweater, sitting in lighting studio, singing for cam. Slow dolly reveals three young Caucasian women dancing the Twist in BG, one of the lassies twisting behind a glass screen. MS young blond woman dancing the Twist, her back initially to the cam. More shots Richard Anthony sitting, singing, women twisting the night away.
Audrey Arno "LaPachanga"
SCOPITONE Andrey Arno dances in a Rio carnival outfit, all feathers and lame (that's "lah-May". The song sambas back and forth amongst German, French and Spanish lyrics.
Molly Bee "Johnny Liar"
SCOPITONE Molly bee and 3 women on backup lipsync outside, Molly singing to an unseeing Johnny, who's putting the make on a different girl every time you see him.The peripatetic John gets his comeuppance when the five women push him into the swimming pool.
Grid Upset: Syracuse Winner Over Maryland
The grid season gets under way with Syracuse a two-touchdown underdog, against Maryland - everyone's pick for the top 10. And in a thrill-packed session, the orange team comes from behind, attacking in the air and on the ground, to trample the Terrapins, 26-12. Establishing shot - Cheerleaders facing the crowd. LL - The crowd. MSOH - The two football teams line up and the football is kicked and it is caught and John McVicker runs it back 67 yards. MS - Three plays later from the 1 yard mark, McVicker plundges over to put the Terrapins in the lead. MS - The jammed packed sports spectators. MS - The ball is thrown to Brown and he takes it over the goal line. MLS - Crowd MS - A fumble dashes Terrapins hopes still further. MS - In the huddle Brown is handed the ball and runs the ball to the 6 yard line. MS - On fourth down Zeroman tosses a jump pass to Ridlawn and Syracuse opens the season with a victory over Maryland, 26 to 12.
15 Die In East Coast Hurricane
Hurricane Flossie, first of the year to strike the mainland, smashes over the seawalls and levees of Louisiana. 15 Die in the swathe of destruction as the storm ravages northward across six states, before sweeping out to sea on the mid-Atlantic coast. (voice over reports 16 deaths) Establishing shot - The coast line of New Orleans being pounded by high winds and waves. MS - Two men walking on the beach wearing top coats and hats. MS - Fishing boats tied up at the dock, some of the smaller ones have been sunk. MSB - Man and woman walking in a flooded area wind is blowing. MS - The Beach, waves are pounding and the wind is blowing. MS - A beach house, water slowly encroaching up to the porch. MS - Camera panning, flooded homes, flooded streets that resemble white water river's.
"Babe" Didrikson: Star Athlete, 42, Dies Of Cancer
'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias dies of cancer at the age of 42, and sports lovers everywhere mourn the passing of the beloved 'World's Greatest Woman Athlete.' Highlights of her truly fabulous career, from the 1932 Olympics (Olympic footage may not be licensed) where she burst into fame, to the present are reviewed.
August 2, 1994 - Part 10
(00:40:47) His recusal had no impact one way or the other on what did happen or is happening today with the investigation. The only issue before us and it's a legitimate issue and it goes to the question of improper conduct is bow the issue of recusal impacts the question have happened or what was in the process conceiv-ably of happening with respect to the White House on this issue. So I conclude your failure to recuse certainly didn't affect the case, But now you have repeatedly said, Mr. Altman, and I'm truly puzzled about it and I want to explore this and what I can't finish in this round I will finish in my own round. When you went to the---- you have repeatedly described this as a hard decision, and obviously characterized as a bard decision because Josh Steiner's diaries characterize it as that. You repeatedly have said it was about a hard decision. Why was it a hard decision, what was hard about deciding to recuse yourself? 518 Mr. ALTMAN. First of all, I had been made aware that there no legal requirement to recuse that there was no ethical re ment to recuse, and the recusal decisions typically are taken a matter is ready for decision which this one wasn't. So it's no quired legally, it's not required ethically, and it's not timely either. I think, Senator, the Office of Government Ethics makes clear why this is a hard decision. It is implicitly critical of me for having done it. Now, I just think it's hard to know when whether you have a duty to serve as the Office of Government Ethics Report suggests or whether you ought to recuse as they say because it's convenient Senator KERRY. But you had already decided not to serve. Every. thing you have Mr. ALTMAN. They mean serve-well, I think they mean to serve in a legal sense. Senator KERRY. You had decided not to serve in any sense you were not going to make a decision. You were not going to receive information. You were not going to affect the case. You had decided effectively, as you called it yourself, a de facto recusal. Why, there- fore, was it hard to go beyond a de facto recusal and do a real de jure recusal? What was hard about that? to Mr. ALTMAN. It was just a purely personal matter. It seems me when you are told you don't need to do it legally, and you don't need to do it ethically, and it's not timely to do it anyway, you do say to yourself how important is it that I do it. I wouldn't have asked the advice that I asked from several different people if I had my mind made up. I didn't, and that was the day before February 2 that I asked for that advice. Senator KERRY. My time is up. I'm going to put that into a larger context. Mr. ALTMAN. Again, given the chance to do it all over again, I would have recused myself right off the bat. Senator KERRY. I understand but I want to get to this because I think it's central to why we're here and I will come back to it in my next round. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Bond. Senator BOND. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Altman we have gone past this question a number of times. I asked you who told the White House of the criminal referrals and you stated that no one in the RTC to your knowledge had done so. There have been questions about correcting the record. As far as I can tell, you have not bad an opportunity to correct the record.,, What, for the record, is the proper answer to that question I asked you on February 24? Mr. ALTMAN. Senator, as you know, I said not to my knowledge. That was 100 percent truthful at the moment I said it. I received a call from Mr. Podesta. He said what about those fall meetings I said I never heard of them. He confirms that I said that. I then go through the exercise I mentioned to you in terms of calling in Ms. Hanson, Mr. Steiner what about these meetings. They didn't ;say, oh, you knew about them, didn't you, they didn't say that. I then called Senator Riegle which I thought was the right to do and I called you, which was the right thing to do. I say learned about them, I want you to know that because you, Senator 519 Bond, had asked me the question. And I'm immediately going to amend the record and I did. I prepared a letter with the help of others and Ms. Hanson approves the letter. Now Senator BOND. That's all the process, but your March 2 letter is
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