August 2, 1994 - Part 5
August 2, 1994 - Part 5
(16:20:18) And let me buttress this point in this way. Ms. Hanson helped prepare the questions and answers for my testimony about White House contacts. Ms. Hanson sat directly behind me during my testimony. Just after my response to Senator Bond, if you watch the videotape I turn to her and she confirmed my answer, Then she and I had lunch together again afterwards. A week passed before Mr. Podesta's call, which alerted me to the fall meetings. Ms. Hanson, Mr. Chairman, then precleared my letter to Senator Riegle which stated that I had no prior knowledge of these meetings. She signed off on it. At none of those times did she suggest not one of those times did she suggest that my recollection was faulty. 412 We also know that Ms. Hanson earlier prepared Q's and A's indicating that I had not asked her to brief the White House last fall. And the Office of Government Ethics Report, released Sunday, indicated that she also answered "no" to a similar question which OGE or its representatives asked. I believe, Mr. Chairman, and I want to especially address myself to Senator Bond, that these facts confirm my testimony on February 24 that I had no knowledge of those meetings at the time of my testimony. The Office of Government Ethics Report concluded that no nonpublic information on the case was provided to the White House at the February 2 meeting. No nonpublic information was provided. Its investigation included testimony, taken under oath from all participants in that meeting. Mr. Cutler's report, based on a separate set of interviews with the same individuals, reached the same conclusion. In addition, had sensitive information on any aspect of the case been conveyed, perhaps Mr. Fiske would have reached a different conclusion than the one he did. Last Friday, Senator D'Amato charged that we had somehow advised the White House that the RTC would be unable to complete its investigation of Madison by the February 28 statute of limitations deadline. And that this somehow signaled the President that he need not enter into a tolling agreement because the deadline otherwise would lapse. That charge, Senator D'Amato, is categorically false. Senator DAMATO. That's not what Mr. Ickes says. Mr. ALTMAN, Senator D'Amato is wrong on this point. Senator DAMATO. Well, Mr. Ickes may be wrong, sir. If he says I'm wrong, I'm going to respond. Mr. ALTMAN My testimony on this point was wholly accurate and I want to emphasize that to you, Mr. Chairman. My testimony on this point was wholly accurate and the record makes that clear. Let me review the record. What I told the White House about RTC procedures is documented in my talking points for that meeting which, I know that you have. Those talking points say: It is not certain when the analysis will be completed, but it will be completed before February 28. And the OGE report, as I said, which is the most recent report, testimony taken under oath, found no nonpublic information was disclosed on February 2. Mr- Cutler's report and the chronology state that no such information was given on February 2. Ellen Kulka, the RTC General Counsel, made perfectly clear that no matter what, she and the RTC would be ready to make a decision by February 28. 1 believe, and you can ask Mr. Ickes yourself when he appears before you, that he did not intend to say I had told the White House the investigation could not be concluded by February 28. Now, much has been made of my supplements to the record after the February 24 hearing. I do not entirely understand this. The Chairman said at the conclusion of the hearing that the record was open for additional information. It has always been my impression that supplementing the record was a constructive act, not a bad act. 413 I want to stress to this Committee that there was not a pattern of withholding or concealing information. It's really the opposite. As soon as I learned or received information, as in the case of the two fall meetings, I immediately provided it to the Committee. It could not all have been provided in the first letter, because I didn't have it all then. Only through a comprehensive review of files and logs was more information uncovered. And ultimately an exhaustive review by Counsel turned up the final information. I believe that providing such information to this Committee, as soon as it was available, was the right step to take. It was not a case of dribbling out information which I had all along. Let me be specific.