July 29, 1994 - Part 2
July 29, 1994 - Part 2
(12:10:30) But you know, as I do, Mr. Chairman, there's blood in the water and we know what happens when there's blood in the water, and in this case Bill Clinton is paddling along there, trying to be the leader of the country, and certainly the First Lady is in there too. I don't doubt, in my mind, that if he were to step down tomorrow. all of these accusations would miraculously disappear the day after. There are some who say Whitewater is about the abuse of power., It may be in more than one way. Certainly what about the abuse of power in using television, radio and the print media? It's kind:" of a bully pulpit, those who have sought simply bring down President. I think to use those media entities to discredit the Presi dent is also an abuse of power. This hearing with all of the unfounded allegations parroted in:,' , the talk shows and newspaper articles, says more about what's wrong with politics than any real estate deal that went sour 16 years ago. And I fear this, if anything, is going to deepen the American people's distrust of Congress when they realize we're spending $400,000 of their money with this hearing. Many Americans think that these hearings are politically moti. vated. Silly Americans, I don't know how they can believe that about any U.S. Senator, but make no mistake about it, that is what many people do believe. The people in my State are, I think, more concerned about the wildfires that have been creeping up near their homes, about the tragedy in Rwanda, about what we're going to do with the Crime bill and the Health Care bill than they are 37 about this hearing. I'm hopeful we'll clear this issue up once and for all and get back to the Work of the people that sent us here. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Hatch. (12:12:15) OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ORRIN G. HATCH Senator HATCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Senate has named me as a Special Member of the Whitewater Committee for the express purpose of considering matters within the jurisdiction of the Committee on the Judiciary of which I am the Ranking Member. Consistent with this mandate, I intend to focus most of my inquiry on matters related to the Department of Justice's involvement in Whitewater. Let me emphasize at the outset that the scope of these bearings has been very narrowly defined by the Majority side. We are permitted to explore only matters relating to the death of Vincent Foster or to communications between the White House and the Department of Treasury or the Resolution Trust Corporation that involve Whitewater or Madison Guaranty, In other words whole areas of inquiry such as bow the Department of Justice handled the Madison Guaranty criminal referral from the RTC, that named President and Mrs. Clinton as potential beneficiaries of criminal misconduct, and whether there was any improper influence exercised by the White House or other Administration officials on DOJ's Department of Justice's, handling of criminal referrals regarding Madison Guaranty and Whitewater may have to wait for another day to have a full airing. Nevertheless, there are numerous Justice Department matters that bear directly on communications between the White House and the Treasury Department or the RTC with respect to Whitewater and Madison Guaranty. These matters include but are not limited to the following: On March 23, 1993, shortly after Roger Altman had been informed of a pending Whitewater criminal referral that the RTC made to the Department of Justice, President Clinton took the extraordinary step of dismissing all sitting U.S. Attorneys, including the U.S. Attorney in Little Rock to whom the Whitewater criminal referral had already been sent, I believe, and I believe history will show, that this was an unprecedented action, and I can remember being shocked at the time this happened because it did happen. Again, in late September 1993, the RTC leaked to the White House the fact that the RTC was forwarding nine additional criminal referrals concerning Whitewater to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Little Rock. A few weeks later, in late October, Paula Casey, President Clinton's appointee as U.S. Attorney in Little Rock and a former campaign worker of his, informed the RTC that her office would not prosecute the initial Whitewater criminal referral. In early November, then-Associate Attorney General Webster .Hubbell and Ms, Casey announced their recusal from participation in Whitewater matters. Around early January 1994, according to an entry in Roger Altman's diary, the White House was trying to negotiated the scope 38 of its Independent Counsel with Attorney General-let me give you the quote according to the diary, the White House quote was: trying to negotiate the scope of its Independent Counsel with Attorney General Reno and was having enormous difficulty.