August 1, 1994 - Part 6
August 1, 1994 - Part 6
(18:45:32) Ms. HANSON. Senator Boxer, I take my responsibilities and my obligations very seriously. If I had been able to make those answers perfect, I would have done that. That was not possible. Senator BOXER. But you, wanted Ms. HANSON. May I finish? Senator BOXER. You wanted to make them perfect at a later date- MS. HANSON. May I finish, please. Senator BOXER. My time is running out so Ms. HANSON. This is very important to me, Senator BOXER. Go ahead. Ms. HANSON, I'm testifying here under oath, and I would like the opportunity to finish, if I might. Senator ~OXER. Go ahead. Go ahead, please. Ms. HANSON. It is not possible, as one sits and listens to 41/2 hours of testimony and hears the words, to respond to every issue. It's essential to have a transcript to look it over. As I stated, there were a number of things-in fact, I believed that Mr. Altman bad testified to the follow-up meeting that ' took place on February 3, 1994. 1 believed it. As I left the nearing, I believed I bad beard it. I believed he had testified to it. I searched the transcript after I got it, and read it over and over. I never found it because, in fact, was mistaken. In order to make sure that the testimony is correct, it's important and essential to read the testimony. We have here now-everyone has gone over and pored over two questions and answers, and that's appropriate, but at the time it happened, I was listening and the questions were being asked and the answers were being given, it wasn't possible to focus on the answer to every question. And , if I just might add Senator BOXER. Ms. Hanson, I'm not talking to you about every question. I'm speaking, specifically, about the question that Senator Gramm asked, and I don't doubt that you believe you've been right all through this. I'm trying to give you the perspective of a reasonable person. I'm not an attorney, so when someone says, Have you, or any member of your staff, discussed this issue with the White House, I don't expect you're going to say' "Well ' I'll only answer it regarding a problem with a civil matter." I'm just trying to suggest to you that it was very important. When you prepared Mr. Altman's testimony for Congress, I note that on it, you did not, in fact, write down that you had discussed this with Mr. Nussbaum and that you had follow-up meetings with him. That would be my last question. Why didn't you prepare him for that? 126 Ms. HANSON. There had not been an oversight board hearing for a year. During that period of time the Secretary had promised that the RTC would engage in-would adopt nine reforms. There was a tremendous amount of RTC work that had gone on during that period of time, including whstleblower hearings and follow-up, the civil investigation, and the extension of the statute of limitations did our absolute one was not an There was a massive quantity of information. We best to try to anticipate every question, and that ticipated. Senator BOXER. So, you didn't brief him, in writing, to this question and, then, when it occurred, you thought you'd fix it up later. Is that a fair summary? Ms. HANSON. As I said, I had no-Mr. Altman, I understood Senator BOXER. Is that a fair summary? Ms. HANSON. -was testifying to his recollection. Senator BOXER. Is what I just stated a fair summary? You didn't think it was important enough to include in the written preparation and, when he didn't discuss it when asked by Senator Gramm, you thought you'd fix up the record later on that point. Ms. HANSON. I disagree with everything that you've just said. Senator BOXER. That's not correct. I will withhold, because I'm missing a point here, and I will come back later. Senator Gramm. Senator DAMATO. Senator Boxer, if I might, I'd just like to make an observation. That is, Ms. Hanson, notwithstanding that this was an RTC oversight hearing, it was very clear that the Republicans were interested as it related to Whitewater and only as it related to Whitewater * They weren't interested in the reforms. Let's be candid. So, I find it difficult to understand how there was this mass of documentation when we were interested-and, indeed, you knew what we were interested in and were prepared for our interest in the question of contacts with the White House. I told that to Mr. Altman the night before on the telephone. I yield to Senator Gramm.