July 29, 1994 - Part 2
July 29, 1994 - Part 2
(11:39:31) Senator Bryan. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD H. BRYAN Senator BRYAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Our focus in this phase of the Whitewater matter must be threefold: First to inquire if there was improper interference into the independence of regulatory agencies. Second, to ascertain if conflicts of interest existed and were ignored. Third, to determine if there was an effort to mislead the public and/or the Congress. It is this Committee's duty to conduct a thorough, fair, and nonpartisan inquiry and we established a process to do just that. Because Mr. Fiske, a Special Prosecutor looking into the entire Whitewater/Madison matter has asked the Committee to confine the scope of this bearing to only those matters be has completed investigating, there will undoubtedly be questions left unanswered for the time being. This will not be because there is an attempt to avoid a full discussion but in order to prevent the Special Prosecture's investiga 28 tion from being compromised. Mr. Fiske has not yet completed his investigation. The Congress should learn from its mistake in the Iran-Contra hearing. By holding hearings, calling witnesses and offering them immunity for their testimony before the Special Prosecutor had completed his case, Congress ultimately compromised that inves. tigation. Our judicial system paid the price when the prosecutor's cases were then thrown out of court and convictions were overturned. We should not make that mistake again. The process that we have established to review areas of inquiry, once Mr. Fiske has completed his work, is the sensible and responsible way to handle this matter. (11:41:05) Mr. Fiske has concluded that no criminal offenses were committed in this first phase of his investig ation. This Committee's charge, however, is much broader. It is this Committee's obligation to consider the ethical propriety of certain actions taken by public officials. In my view, some contacts appear to be improper. Some discus. sions appear to be inappropriate. Compounding whatever errors may have occurred is the undeniable fact that from day one statements made and questions answered bad to be revised, written, and retracted until the shadow of doubt was cast simply because all the facts were not forthcoming from the outset. Another lesson to be learned is that policymakers and regulators must be kept separate. No one person can assume both roles. Whatever errors Mr. Altman may have made, he was placed in an untenable position. The independence of regulators is one of the basic tenets of our Government. This is not a problem unique to this Administration. It has occurred in the past. Regardless of au decisions later made, the independence of the Resolution Trust Corporation was, in my view, undermined when a Treasury Department policymaker was put in charge. Mr. Chairman, we need to take legislative action to ensure that the head of the RTC will be totally independent A high ranking Treasury political appointee has the responsibility and duty to to advance the interest and policies of his Administration. Mixing the two is asking for trouble and in this case we found it. We should amend the RTC regulations so that a future regulatory independence is insured, None of us yet have the knowledge to judge the entire matter and those questions are left to be answered by Mr. Fiske's full probe when it is completed. There are legitimate questions which this Committee should ask. The Committee has a right to know. The Committee has a right to ask. The media has a right to report. That's what makes our system a democracy and that is all good. What is not good are the innuendoes, the leaks, the exaggerations, and distortions which have occurred around this hearing. It is time for that to end. My role in this hearing is simple. I want to get at the facts fairly and openly. And although it appears no criminal violations have occurred, I am troubled by the conduct of some of the Administration's aides. The President, in my opinion, has not been well-served by their zeal and I'm particularly bothered by the testimony before 29 this Committee by Mr. Altman and the series of explanatory letters that followed. I'm hopeful, however, that today's hearing focusing on the tragic death of Vincent Foster can be conducted in a manner which will not unnecessarily add to the personal grief his family has already endured. This is not the time, nor the place for -sensationalism. I did ' not know Mr. Foster but from what I've beard about him, be was a good man who came to Washington to serve his President and his country. Mr. Fiske concluded, and I quote: That Vincent Foster committed suicide in Fort Marry Park on July 20, 1993. Although the Contributing facto" to his depressed state can never be precisely determined, there is no evidence that any issues relating to Whitewater, Madison Guar. anty, or CMS played any part in the suicide. While I do not advocate that this Committee should be bound by all of Mr. Fiske's findings, I do find reprehensible the attempts by some to invent a new scenario surrounding Mr. Foster's death. Let us deal solely with the facts as they occurred. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Bryan, Senator Bennett.