July 29, 1994 - Part 2
July 29, 1994 - Part 2
(12:45:55) The physical evidence makes it equally clear that the suicide occurred right where the body was found on the slope of the berm located in Fort Marcy Park. The photographs taken of his body in the park show modest amounts of blood on his face and clothing. The blood visible on his clothing was limited to a small area on the right shoulder of his shirt which is consistent with Mr. Foster having COMmitted suicide where the body was found. The pathologist s ` who reviewed this evidence concluded that if the body had been moved, there would have undoubtedly been substantially greater amounts of blood on his skin and clothing than what is depicted in the photographs, 47 Once the body was taken out of the park and brought to the morgue, substantial blood loss did occur. When Dr. Beyer received the body to conduct the autopsy, Mr. Foster's shirt was saturated in blood and his face also had considerably more blood on it than what is depicted on the photographs taken in the park. Had the body been moved to Fort Marcy Park after his death, the Park Police would have found Mr. Foster's body and clothing far more bloody than they were at the scene, Simply stated, Senators, the photographs taken by the Park Police and reviewed by our panel of expert pathologists leave no doubt that the body bad not been moved, After concluding that Mr. Foster's death was a result of a suicide in Fort Marcy Park, our final task was to determine whether there was any evidence to connect any Whitewater related issue to his suicide. We have found no such evidence. Those who worked in the White House, during the first half of 1993, have all stated that Whitewater was not an issue of any significance within the White House during that period, The issue had received virtually no attention in the press _'nee the spring of 1992 during the Presidential campaign, As one person put it, Whitewater was not "on the screen" at the time of Mr. Vince Foster's death, It was not until October, 1993, 3 months after Mr. Foster's death, when it was disclosed that the Resolution Trust Corporation bad issued criminal referrals involving Madison Guaranty and Whitewater that the matter again received prominent public attention. Therefore, the timing of Mr. Foster's death does not suggest that Whitewater was a cause of any distress for him. Each of Mr. Foster's coworkers, friends, and family whom we questioned stated that Mr. Foster never expressed, any concern to them about Whitewater related issues. Obviously, the fact that Mr. Foster never expressed a concern about Whitewater to anyone does not mean that be did not, in fact, have such a concern. Thus we cannot conclusively rule out such a concern as a possible contributing factor to his depression. What we can conclude is that there is no evidence that be did have such a concern against a background in which Whitewater issues were neither a matter of express concern in the White House nor the subject of media attention. Senators that is a summary of the conclusions reached during our investigation. 1, Agent Colombell, and Dr. Hirsch will do our best to answer all of your questions. However, please understand that there were many participants in this investigation. There may be aspects of the investigation you are interested in that we are not qualified to address. In that case, we would respectfully suggest we be permitted to consult with the appropriate people follow- ing the hearing today and submit our answers in writing. In conclusion, I would like to state on behalf of the entire investigative team represented here on this panel, that it has been a privilege to have served under Mr. Fiske during these past months. He and his legal staff have repeatedly emphasized that we should leave no stone unturned in order to find the truth. We believe we have done that. Thank you, sir.