August 1, 1994 - Part 6
August 1, 1994 - Part 6
(19:00:46) Ms. HANSoN. Actually, sir, it didn't. That letter was written for a specific purpose, to let the Committee know that there was going to be a newspaper article, that appeared the following day, that talked about the two fall contacts. That's why the letter was written. It was not written with any intention of clarifying or supplementing the record completely. It required looking at the transcript and doing Senator GRAMM, You're saying be would not have written this letter had the article not been coming out the next day that contradicted his testimony? Ms. HANsON. I have testified that what we expected to happen was to get a cop copy of the transcript, review that copy of the transcript, and supplement it as was necessary. We were waiting for written questions. We bad been told that we would receive many written questions, and we intended that to be completed in an orderly, thorough, professional process. Senator GRAMM. Didn't you review the videotape the next day? Ms. HANSON. I did not. The CHAMMAN. Did Mr. Foreman say that she had? Senator GRAmm. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. Apparently, there is-someone had indicated that their belief was that you had viewed it, but your testimony here, today, is you did not view the videotape after the hearing? Ms. HANsON. No. It's my recollection that Mr. Foreman taped that video--made that videotape over the weekend, because the hearing was played on Saturday night, and I believe be's just mistaken. I was doing other things on the day after that Friday, and Wouldn't have had 41/2 hours to watch it. The CHAMMAN. Did you then see it at some later time? MS. HANSON, I did not. Senator GRAMM. Let me go back to my point, I think what we're all trying to get at here is, you, in essence, have said that you knew during Mr. Altman's testimony, that there had been more than one meeting You knew there had been more than one subject that had been discussed. You knew that with certainty, but it didn 't matter because you were going to have an opportunity-Mr. Altman was going to have an opportunity to go back and clarify it. Mr. Altman had an opportunity to clarify in the letter he wrote and did not. He had an opportunity on March 3, 1994, in another letter he wrote, but didn't clarify, and he bad another opportunity in another letter he wrote on March 11, 1994. At what point are you accountable for what you, say? Do we take this position that, come before the Committee, say anything you want to say 130 something that is verifiably false and, then, you can send the committee three letters without ever going back and saying, " wrong"? If, at some point in the future, you come back and, a clarify the record, then is it all well and good? Can you say when you were asked the question and provided answers that were wrong on the two points you made, first, that there bad been only,,,; one substantive contact and, again, repeated in a follow-up ques- tion from Senator Domenici. that there had been only one contact? We now know there may have been 20 or 40 contacts. Second, Mr. Altman volunteered, himself, that there had only been one subject matter discussed, and he didn't mention recusal at all. Are you really saying that none of that mattered, three letters, a clear and reiterated testimony, because you could still later send another let.' ter to strike it all out? Ms. HANsON. Sir, thats not what I've said. That's not at all what I've said. What I've said, is that it required getting the testimony and looking at it. Before I had the opportunity to look at the testimony, Grand Jury subpoenas were served. I never had the opportunity to complete the process and review the transcript. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Gramm, I'm going to give you the time you need, although the time has expired and I should rotate now, but Senator GRAMM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN, -you're not going to be foreclosed from further RTC questions if you have them. Senator GRAMM. I have here-and correct me if I'm wrong-and this is the testimony-that the White House had the testimony on March 1, 1994. Maybe you ought to pass this up as well. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Gramm, what I've got to do, because the time has run well over, I think, is rotate and then come back to your side. Senator Kerry.