August 1, 1994 - Part 2
August 1, 1994 - Part 2
(12:15:41) Senator KERRY. OK Now, obviously, my time is up, I want to develop this a little more. Mr. Chairman, the reason this is important, we learned just a little bit later of the Republican U.S. Attorney in Little Rock who gets a criminal referral and who is under some pressure to rush the indictment process. There are letters that have been made public, and articles with respect to this, and I will come back to it. I want to come back, obviously, with a series of questions to the RTC and Mr. Altman. The CHAIRMAN. Very good. Senator Bennett. 33 OPENING COMMENTS OF SENATOR ROBERT F. BENNETT Senator BENNETT. Thank you, Can I find a mike that works somewhere? Is this now on? 61, OF, Good. The gremlins have left us. This is now working. Mr. Katsanos, you're the only one of this panel that has institutional memory. You go all the way back to the beginning of the RTC. Mr. Roelle has some, but he's gone, and you're the one that bridges the whole thing so if I may, I had going to make you the star for a little while. Mr. KATSANos. Thank you, sir. The CHAIRMAN. I'm going to have you speak a little louder, Senator Bennett. I'm not sure that microphone is working properly. Senator BENNETT. This is as close as I can get without chewing it, The CHAiRMAN. Yes, that's fine. Senator BENNETT. Mr. Katsanos, I'm going to quote from your deposition. Let me make it clear, I am pursuing the issue of the independence of the RTC . That's what I talked about in my opening. statement * had concern is that this Administration has tried to politicize the RTC and destroy its independence and that's the direction in which I'm going here. You say in your deposition: I was told to coordinate my activities with the Treasury Department press office and when Roger Altman was installed, the practice was to consult with them on significant stories, In some cases, they would give me instructions on what they felt I should say in response to press inquiries. They, in effect, viewed us as an arm of the Treasury Department. Do you stand by that? Mr. KATSANOS. Yes, I do, sir. Senator BENNETT. You say on page 115-tbat was page 79 of your deposition-page 115, you say: , The final step was taken that really eliminated any concept of independence, and that was when they permitted the Treasury Department to assume direct control of the RTC. Question: In your view, did that under-mine the political independence of the RTC as it was intended to be constituted? Answer: The RTC was certainly much more political, and there were activities undertaken that were of much more concern to the career staff than there had ever been before. Is that still your position? Mr. KATSANOS. Yes, sir. Senator BENNETT. When you say "than there had ever been before," are you referring to the previous Administration? Mr. KATSANOS. That's correct, sir. Senator BENNETT. Thank you. You go on to say in your deposition "Neither Joan Logue-Kinder"-am I pronouncing that correctly? Mr. KATSANos. I believe so. Senator BENNETT. "Neither Joan Logue-Kinder or Jean Hanson had any official position at the RTC; correct?" You answer: That's correct. Question: Their involvement came strictly through Treasury and somehow related to Mr. Altman's appointment as CEO? Answer; That's correct. Question: Was that on an official basis? Answer: No, it was by virtue of they are staffing the CEO, the Interim CEO. She, in effect, was running )& legal department. 34 Question: What period of time was Jean Hanson running the legal department at RTC? Answer: It became her responsibility from the time that she started over at the Treasury Department, Do you still have that view? Mr. KATsANos. Yes, sir, Senator BENNETT. There have been references to Early Birds, Will you tell us what an Early Bird is, for the record? Mr. KATsANos. The Early Bird -is a daily publication, a news bulletin in a sense, that had office puts together at the end of each day. It summarizes stories that we anticipate could appear the next day or the next week, sometime in the future. Senator BENNETT. So, it's an internal publication that's for senior officials only. Mr. KATSANOS. That is correct. Senator BENNETT. Because of a call from Susan Schmidt of The Washington Post in late September or early October, I understand that the Early Bird publication noted that The Washington Post was interested in these matters. Do I have that basically correct? Mr. KATSANOS. Essentially, sir.