July 29, 1994 - Part 2
July 29, 1994 - Part 2
(12:05:20) An act of Congress extended this deadline and, incidentally, that was done by you, I say to our Ranking Member, with the assistance of Senator Metzenbaum. This heads up is but one of the troubling aspects of this affair. Some in this city attempt to minimize these hearings, but I would simply point out that we have a serious oversight respon 35 sibility to unearth the truth and ensure proper procedures are followed , I would like to point out that we would not know what we know today had it not been for this Committee's hearing in February when Mr- Altman first revealed under questioning his contact with the White House. So I think we have a lot to get under our belt in a few days and I intend to be part of conducting this bearing with the highest dignity lilt and respect. But that does not mean that because we are doing is as Republicans on this side, it does not mean that we have any motives other than the right motives for the American people, They deserve the truth, whether it's this President or any President and their White House staff. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Campbell. (12:06:45) OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL Senator CAMPBELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I along with my colleagues want to congratulate you and the staff for all the effort you've gone through to put these hearings in place. I have to say I've watched some of the bearings in the other body on the other side of the Hill as most other people have and it looks to me like they're getting vitriolic, long on posturing, long on accusations, and short on information. To my way of thinking, it's made great theatre for the American people but I'm not sure it's going to improve policy. If our bearings do lead to some policy changes, then we certainly will have done our job. These bearings begin with the investigation of Vincent Foster's suicide and that should turn the stomach of any caring American. I really believe we should drop that whole issue and it's obvious we're not going to but we should for the sake of Vince Foster and his family. That was their specific wish. The Independent Counsel, Mr. Fiske, concluded that this was a suicide, the family is satisfied with the Fiske investigation. It seem to me that rather than flogging the issue, we should be ashamed of ourselves and let the man's family live at peace and let him rest in peace. The Park Police, the FBI, the medical examiners, the Independent Counsel, they're all professionals and they did their job and concluded that Vince Foster did indeed commit suicide. It's sad and tragic, but we should let his family celebrate his many accomplishments and not dwell on the circumstances of his death. And I agree with Senator Dodd, that it does indeed, border on macabre. In the statement of the Vince Foster family they said themselves there's pow no justification for painful repetition or examination of these issues. The principle advocates for doing this appear chiefly motivated by mean-spirited partisanship. They certainly did not care at all for the feelings of Vince's family, particularly for his children, who suffered have greatly, And, with your permission, I would like to introduce into the record that whole statement by the family. As far as the rest of the bearing goes, we're supposed to discuss whether there were any improper contacts between the White House and Treasury or RTC officials. The Independent Counsel, Mr. Fiske, a man we have all] praised who has great credentials. who enjoy glowing praises of most of the 36 people on this Committee on both sides of the aisle, has said the contacts weren't illegal, I believe him. I also believe what Senator Domenici has said, maybe there are new things that have come up, if I can paraphrase him, that we need to look at and we shouldn't minimize the effects of the new things we may find out. In addition, the White House Counsel has said that White House officials did not break any Government ethics rule. That's said by a man whose reputation is as solid as a rock. His credentials and integrity are impeccable. I question why anyone would want to second guess his efforts now after giving him such glowing reports in the beginning. We've been here over 2 hours now and I don't want to repeat some of the questions that Members have said that we need to ask. I certainly want to be open- minded, but from everything I've seen" so far, there is no evidence that anybody violated any law or any ethics guidelines. It sounds like there were some cases of bad judgment. But if bad judgment was a crime, I venture to say a number of U.S. Senators would probably be in jail. It sounds like there's confusion about the chain of events and it sounds like there's disagreement over what the ethics guidelines allow and what they do not. We should look at those disagreements and make recommenda tions as to how the Administration could make those rules better. If we're really serious about finding the problems with the ethics rules here and with making recommendations, we should be out of here very quickly.