August 1, 1994 - Part 7
August 1, 1994 - Part 7
(19:55:10) Senator SARBANES. Let me go to this conversation with Nuss- baum. There's a newspaper story today, and we have, in our file a questions and answers- which you apparently prepared to put' yourself through the drill, as I understand it. Let me just read them. This is in reference to the conversation with Nussbaum: Question: Who in Treasury or the RTC knew that you had this conversation? Answer: I don't recall that I told anyone of the conversation. Question: Did you tell Mr. Altman? Answer: No. Question: Did anyone ask you to have this conversation? Answer. No. What are we to make of this practice questions and answers which I've just read to you and which, I understand, were foundcame from your files? Ms. HANSON. Those questions and answers I prepared for myself in the middle of the night on had ' arch 1-2, 1994, as my initial attempt to try to recall the events that had occurred last fall. This was following the call that John Podesta made to Roger Altman, and our locating Senator Bond's questions and transcribing them from the tape. I had not thought about those events for a very long time. It was my first attempt to try to refresh my own recollection. They were prepared for my own use for that purpose of trying to begin the process of refreshing my recollection as to what happened. Over the course of the next several days, as I continued to think about the events that occurred last fall, it became clear to me and I did-that I did have a recollection of speaking with Mr. Altman on this matter. I did not have a recollection of reporting back to him and, in fact, probably the reason that I didn't have the recollection is because there's a memo, I wrote him a memo, and that is the September 30, 1993, memo which was not discoveredit was discovered in my files, but not until we were searching the files to respond to the subpoena after March 4, 1994. Senator SARBANES. Am I to understand that you wrote these questions and answers to, in effect, set out your version of what occurred, and these are all, on the basis of what we have before us, wrong? Is that correct, every one of these answers are wrong? Ms. HANsON. Sir, as I stated, it was my initial attempt at trying to recall the events that had occurred last fall and had initial recollection, as stated in those questions, was wrong, which is why I am so understanding of Mr. Altman not remembering the conversation. But I do, clearly, have a recollection of having the discussion with Mr. Altman, and that came to me over the period of the days following the preparation of those questions and answers as I was searching my own recollection. Senator SARBANES. But you recollected that you had the discussion with Mr. Nussbaum? Ms. HANSON. Yes, I did. 143 Senator SARBANES. In fact, you've set out a question, "But didn't you expect him to tell others, in fact, didn't you expect that he would tell others in the White House?" You answered: "I didn't expect him to do that. I expected that he would use the information to prepare himself for an inquiry." Then, you go on to say, "Who in Treasury or the RTC knew you had this conversation." "I don't recall that I told anyone of the conversation." "Did you tell Mr. Altman." "No." "Did anyone ask you to have this conversation." "no." Now, you're telling us that Mr. Altman asked you to have this conversation. Is that correct? Ms. HANSON. That's correct, Senator SARBANES. Now, you're telling us that you then told Mr. Altman about it. Is that correct? Ms. HANSON. That's correct. Those, as I stated, were prepared I took a laptop computer home from the office. Those were prepared in the middle of the night on March 1-2, 1994, when I was first trying to start the process of refreshing my recollection as to the events that occurred last fall. Over the period of the next several days, as I continued to search my memory, recollections came back to me. In the process of preparing for testimony before the Grand Jury, and continuing to search my recollection, I continued to recall more details. That's not an unusual process.