August 2, 1994 - Part 7
August 2, 1994 - Part 7
(19:00:58) Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, sir, I would. Senator SHELBY. Did you not prepare for this oversight hearing Senator SHELBY. How much time did you spend in your best judgment, if you recall anything, on preparation for that February hearing? Mr. ALTMAN. Ten or 12 hours. Senator SHELBY. Now, did you think you were fairly well prepared when you came before the Banking Committee? Mr. ALTMAN. One is never as prepared as one would like to be but reasonably so. Senator SHELBY. Mr. Altman, you're a graduate of Georgetown University undergraduate and MBA from the University of Chicago is that right? Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, sir. Senator SHELBY. Two good schools. You're an investment banker by profession, or were? Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, sir. Senator SHE SHELBY. You were a partner with one or two of the large investment houses that deal with investment banking in the United States Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, sir. in February? Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, sir, I did. Senator SHELBY. Who worked with you? I know a number of your staff, but besides Ms. Hanson. Mr. ALTMAN. Who attended? Senator SHELBY. Yes, who helped prepare you? We have staff who help prepare us sometimes and I understand that. Mr. ALTMAN. There were about 10 or 15 members in RTC Treasury staff who worked with me on the preparation of the testimony on the Q's and A's before February 24. Senator SHELBY. Do you, in this preparation, go over with different staffers questions that might be-that you might anticipate that some of us here on the Banking Committee might ask you Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, sir. Senator SHELBY. -Pertaining to RTC or something related directly or indirectly to it? Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, sir. 448 Senator SHELBY. -and in the world. Do you believe that when someone asks you a straight question, that you should give them a straight answer? Or should you try to dodge it or duck it? Mr. ALTMAN. Senator, throughout the career that I've been privileged to have, both public and private, I have always tried to an. swer forthrightly. I think if you went out and checked with people who know me, they might say various things about me and my failings but they would not say that I was not a forthright person. Senator SHELBY. We've been checking and this is part of the hearing today. A lot of us are concerned about some of your answers to some questions. Were you trying to avoid the question? Were you hoping that the precise question was not asked, was not asked where you could not squeeze out of it in some way, or duck it in some way, or evade it in some way? Mr. ALTMAN. No, Senator, I wasn't. Senator SHELBY. Was that part of your preparation for the hearin g? Mr. ALTMAN. Senator, I prepared for those hearings the way I've always tried to prepare which was to put myself in a position to know as much as I can about the subject and answer the questions as forthrightly as I can. Senator SHELBY. Do you know Mr. Josh Steiner? Mr. ALTMAN. Sure. Senator SHELBY. Do you work with him? Mr. ALTMAN. Yes, sir. Senator SHELBY. Do you work closely with him? Mr. ALTMAN. Less so these days because he's Chief of Staff, but he was my special assistant through last fall, and we worked very closely. Senator SHELBY. Worked with him every day, did you not, for a while? Mr. ALTMAN. At that period, yes, not now. Senator SHELBY. You're familiar with his diaries and I'm sure you've read them, have you not? Mr. ALTMAN. I've never been given a full copy of the diary, no. I've just have the page The CHAIRMAN. That's all we have, too. Senator SHELBY. Talking about recusal, which you don't think is important, but a lot of us do think that it is important and the method Mr. ALTMAN. Senator, I didn't say it was important. Senator SHELBY. What did you say about it? Mr. ALTMAN. I said it bad nothing to do with the RTC investigation of Madison Guaranty. Senator SHELBY. You said it didn't matter? Mr. ALTMAN. I said it had nothing to do with the RTC investigation of Madison Guaranty. Senator SHELBY. Not whether it didn't matter, it was immaterial to the investigation? Mr. ALTMAN. It would have had no bearing under any circumstances on the RTC investigation of Madison. Senator SHELBY. I want to read you something from the record and it may have already been touched on, but from Josh Steiner's diary and this has to To with your -meeting at the White House. 449 "At a fateful White House meeting with Nussbaum, Ickes, and Williams, however, the White House staff told Roger Altman that it was unacceptable"-that is your recusal. "Roger Altman had gone to brief them on the impending statute of limitations deadline and also to tell them of his recusal decision. They reacted"-they reacted "very negatively to the recusal and Roger Altman backed down the next ay and agreed to a de