August 2, 1994 - Part 1
August 2, 1994 - Part 1
(10:45:24) It then goes on to say, it is clear from the decisions in these case that a waiver of the Freedom of Information Act exemptions has not occurred because of an unauthorized disclosure. It cites Simmons v. Department of Justice, a Fourth Circuit case; Medina Incorporated v. Department of State, a D.C. Circuit case, and Resolution Trust Corporation v. Dean, a 1993 case. Are you familiar with those cases? Mr. FOREMAN, No, sir, not directly, but I agree with the sentiment expressed. Senator BOND. You agree with the sentiment expressed that the press leak doesn't make it nonpublic information, yet it is a justification for sharing that information? Mr. FOREMAN. Senator, I don't think that is the justification that the Office of Government Ethics presented for the sharing of the information. I believe they said that there well could be some nonpublic information there, but that there was a le legitimate Government purpose for sharing it with White House Counsel. I believe that was their analysis. Senator BOND. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAiRmAN. I'm sure we'll discuss that further. Senator Shelby, OPENING COMMENTS OF SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY Senator SHELBY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Steiner, ' just for some background, what's your educational background? Where did you go to school? Mr. STEINER. I went to Yale University. Senator SHELBY. Undergraduate? Mr. STEINER. That's correct, Senator. Senator SHELBY. Do you have a post-graduate degree. Mr. STEINER. I do in history. Senator SHELBY. Where is that from? Mr. STEINER. University College Oxford. Senator SHELBY. Oxford University. And you worked with Father Healy when he was at New York University heading the library. Is that correct? 341 Mr. STEINER. That's correct, Senator. Senator SHELBY. Were you his special assistant there? Mr. STEINER. That's correct. Senator SHELBY. How long were you in that job? Mr. STEINER. A year and a half. Senator SHELBY. In your adult life time, have you done some writing on your own? I 'm not just speaking of your diaries. Have you published articles? Mr. STEINER. I spent one summer as an intern at a magazine. That's the extent. Senator SHELBY. What magazine was it? Mr. STEINER. Teenage Magazine. [Laughter.] Senator SHELBY. Were you a writer? Mr. STEINER, I was a writer and an expert at the time. [Laughter.] Senator SHELBY. You were a writer and what, sir? Mr. STEINER. I was a writer for them, an editorial intern, Senator. Senator SHELBY. When you were at Yale University, of course, you did a lot of writing as a student, did you not? Mr. STEINER. Yes, I did. Senator SHELBY. At Oxford University, what college were you associated with there? Mr. STEINER. At Oxford, Senator? University College. Senator SHELBY. How long were you there, for 2 years? Mr. STEINER, Just 1 year, Senator. One year master's program. Senator SHELBY. Do you believe, from your background, your education and so on, that words are important? Mr. STEINER, Yes, I do. Senator SHELBY. And when you choose words, you make a decision, we all do, don't we? Mr. STEINER, I think the context in which you use them makes a big difference. Senator SHELBY, Sure, but the choosing of words themselves is important. Mr. STEINER. Depending on the circumstances, that's correct. Senator SHELBY. If we stipulate that you're a very well-educated man, Yale, Oxford, just for the sake of questioning here, your diaries that we've been referring to, these diaries were made more or less, maybe not the same day that you bad some observations or something you participated in, but more or less contemporaneous with events, were they not? Mr. STEINER. Some of the entries, Senator, were a month after the fact. Senator SHELBY. Within a few weeks or a month, is that right? Some the same day or so, were they not? Mr. STEINER. All of them were at least 3 days after the fact. Senator SHELBY. But these diary en tries were based on your reflections of events as they unfolded at the time that you wrote them? Mr. STEINER. Let me go back to what I said earlier, Senator, because I think it might be helpful, which is that my purpose in keeping this, and I've kept it for a long time in very different cir- 342 cumstances, when I've been traveling or when I've been visiting family. Senator SHELBY. I didn't ask you your purpose in keeping them. We've got an idea of your purpose. We're getting into the content of what's in the diaries. Mr. STEINER. I understand, Senator, I think the purpose for which one does something makes a difference in terms of what one writes. Senator SHELBY. Well, go ahead, what was your purpose, to write a book? Mr. STEINER. No, it was not, Senator. It was to reflect upon per- sonal and professional experiences and see whether I could draw some lessons from what had taken place. Senator SHELBY. Have you, throughout your life, noted things in what we'd call a diary? Mr. STEINER. I've done it for over 6 years now. Senator SHELBY, Six years. You did this when you were at New York University? Mr. STEINER. I did this when I was in New York, yes, sir. Senator SHELBY. Did you do it in school? Mr. STEINER. I started doing this in 1988. Senator SHELBY, I want to refer to some of your diary entries. I'll just quote here, from 2/13, 2/27, line 7 forward: Every now and again, you watch a disaster unfold and seem powerless to stop it. For weeks, we've been battling over how RA That's Roger Altman, right? Mr. STEINER. That's correct, Senator,