July 29, 1994 - Part 2
July 29, 1994 - Part 2
(11:49:30) OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BARBARA BOXER Senator BOXER. Thank you, Mr, Chairman. When Attorney General Reno appointed Robert Fiske to investigate Whitewater, her choice was pretty universally praised, except by, I assume, Senator Faircloth. who, in my view, viciously attacked Mr. Fiske in big opening statement. At the time Senator D'Amato said: Bob Fiske is uniquely qualified for this position. He is a man of uncompromising integrity who will unearth the truth for the American people. So I believe in properly honoring Mr. Fiske's request. The Senate voted for sequential hearings, and I would note that this Committee has responded to the resolution in a most serious and professional fashion and I compliment both sides of the Committee leadership for that and the staff of both sides. The first issue is the Vince Foster death. Independent Counsel 31 The overwhelming evidence compels the conclusion that Vincent Foster committed suicide, There is no evidence that issues related to Whitewater played any part in his suicide. Now, you've heard that several times. But that's the crux of the matter. Mr. Chairman, the exploitation of Vincent Foster's death by those who want to hurt this Presidency is one of the saddest chapters in our recent political history. Mr. Foster's family deserves better. There are lessons to be learned from the Foster suicide. The first is that every person needs to be alert to signs of depression in family, friends, and colleagues, and to recognize that depression is a real illness which requires professional help. The other lesson is more general. Vince Foster said in a law school address, and I quote: There is no victory, no advantage, no fee, no favor which is worth even a blemish on your reputation for intellect and integrity. Dents to the reputation in the legal profession are irreparable. That's Vincent Foster's own words. Mr. Foster was not prepared for the cold political world. Yes, there is a lesson for all of us here, both Democrats and Republicans. National politics will never be gentle, but let there be boundaries and just a little bit of respect for each human being, if for no other reason then for the children, Vince Foster's children, our children, all of America's children. They watch us, Mr. Chairman, and they listen, and the tone is too often ugly Four days before be took his Re, Mr. Foster told his sister he was hesitant to see a psychiatrist because it could jeopardize his security clearance, I'm pleased that the Administration has initiated a review into the policy of interpreting a person's visit to a psychiatrist for a reason to deny or revoke a security clearance, The second issue for our Committee regards contacts between the Administration and Treasury personnel. Here again, Mr. Fiske has found no criminal violations, but our job goes per, as has been stated so eloquently by colleagues on both sides, into whether there was improper conduct or unethical behavior. I have reviewed the ethics guidelines that apply here. We must determine if White House staff violated their own guidelines, which Senator Roth had behind him which read in part "no member of the White House staff should contact any independent agency with respect to any pending adjudicative or investigative matter." We must determine if Treasury officials breached guidelines issued by the Office of Government Ethics when they contacted White House staff. Those guidelines state that an employee shall not make "improper use of nonpublic information to further his own private interest or that of another." I would note that the President himself has said, "it would be better if the meetings and contacts bad not occurred." And White House Counsel, Lloyd Cutler, told the House Banking Committee "there were too many people having too man discussions . about too many sensitive matters." So already, Mr. Altman., lessons have been learned by this Administration. I want to state a special concern. This Committee has the right to expect that the testimony from witnesses is truthful and complete And I share the concerns expressed by Senator Bryan and Senator Gramm and others. For witnesses to shade the truth or 32 give incomplete answers based on tortured interpretations of our questions is unacceptable. Mr. Chairman, in trying to understand all of this, let us not forget human nature. In my view, the White House/Treasury contacts stem from an all too human desire to ensure that something that happened 8 years ago not interfere with the urgent task of governing. Since the Whitewater events happened so many years ago, before this President was President, why not simply keep the White House staff out of it completely. If there's a problem with press inquiries, refer those to a private attorney who is handling the issue. So yes, Mr. Chairman, there are lessons that have been learned and lessons to be learned by all of us. No one on this Committee should be high and mighty and superior about all this. No one of us is perfect, and I hope these bearings will help all of us do a better job for the American people.