August 1, 1994 - Part 8
August 1, 1994 - Part 8
(21:30:17) The CHAiRmAN. We are going to stay with the time. With respect to the transcript from the hearing, the Treasury Department received a transcript, from this Committee, the day after the hearing. If you're the General Counsel over there, and I don't know how things get passed around within the Treasury Department, we have the name of the individual that received the transcript the day after the hearing, So, you should understand, the record should be clear that the Treasury Department had a full transcript 24 hours after that hearing. Why you didn't get it, or somehow were out of the loop on it, we can't begin to answer, but you should understand, the Department, for which youre the top lawyer, had one the day after the hearing. Ms. HANsoN. Senator Riegle, Mr. Altman didn't have one on March 1, 1994, either, so I don't know what happened to the transcript. The CHAIRMAN. You may want to go back tomorrow and ask Ms. HANsON. I Will, absolutely, go back and check this out. The CHAIRMAN. I want to go to the questions. I'm going to call on Senator Roth. Is it critical, Senator Gramm, or should we go to Senator Roth? Senator GRAMM. III wait and come back. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Roth. Senator RoTH. Yes. Mr. Chairman, last Friday, in my opening remarks, I expressed concern about two things. One, was whether our rules, policy, and guidelines on matters of ethics and conflicts of interest were adequate. Second, whether or not these rules were adequately enforced. As I listen to the testimony today, I become aware there have been some pretty strict policies established both in the RTC, as well as in the White House, but the thing that concerns me, Ms. Hanson, is I see very little evidence of any effort being made to enforce these rules and regulations. In the case of the RTC, it was established this morning that it is the policy of the RTC not to disclose criminal referrals, or information about their preparation, on an institution-specific basis. In answer to a question as to whether there were any exceptions to that policy, whether referrals extended to press inquiries, we were told there were no exceptions of any type. Now, my question to you is whether or not, in your discussions and determination of contacting the White House, the policy of the RTC came under consideration in any way? 168 Ms. HANSON. No, sir, but I believe the policy of the RTC, as I understand it, is that criminal referrals are to be confidential and that there is no exception for talking to the press, If that's the case, then that policy and that regulation were breached by the RTC employee, or employees, who gave the press all this information which was the reason that I ended up talking with Mr. Nussbaum. If that hadn't occurred, then the conversations wouldn't have taken place. Senator ROTH. At the time you contacted Mr. Nussbaum, was it clear that there had been a leak, and were you aware of what that leak was? Ms. HANSON. There was absolutely no question in my mind, at the time I spoke with Mr. Nussbaum, that either it had been leaked or was about to be leaked. That view was confirmed, the following day, by an RTC Early Bird. In addition as I've stated, the IG report-the IG chronology, that was released yesterday, showed reporter interest on September 23, 1993. Senator ROTH. But, if I understand your testimony, Ms. Hanson, at the time you called Mr. Nussbaum, you did not, specifically, know whether or not there was a leak. As you just said, either there had been a leak or you knew there was going to be a leak. Ms. HANSON. Whether I knew---- Senator ROTH. The facts are you did not, actually, know at that time. Is that not correct?