August 2, 1994 - Part 8
August 2, 1994 - Part 8
(19:25:38) The CHAIRMAN. I think we're going to try to stick to these 10- minute periods. Senator ROTH. If I could just make one comment, Mr. Chairman. The reason I think this was important, you stated earlier, in effect, that it was all right for RTC press staff to be in contact with the White House press staff, and yet that is directly contrary to RTC policy, which you now say you were not acquainted with. The CHAIRMAN. We'll have to come back to that another time. Mr. ALTMAN. May I answer quickly? The CHAIRMAN. Very briefly. Mr. ALTMAN. I think I said, Senator Roth, that if RTC press advised the White House of some press development, I wouldn't have found that- I wouldn't have found that wrong. That's what I tried to say. The CHAIRMAN. Well, we can't take it any further just now. Senator Senator CAMPBELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My colleague from Nevada said a while ago that we are a kind of a jury and I guess so in one respect we have to make decisions, but I know, as you do, you're not on trial, Mr. Altman, And I know that some of the questions have been asked tend to probably make like you have been. I'm convinced from what I've heard the few days, and read, that there have been some mistakes, I guess what we have to decide is have they been done intentionally or with any intent to try to cover anything up. Some of your testi- mony seems to be contradictory, but, as I understand, it's your best Collection. I often draw on my own experiences and I know if someone asked something, and then asked me the same question months later, MY recollections may be different on the same subject, but I don't I 478 think that should be an indication or should be implied that I in- lied one time or the other time. I'm going to try and keep some of my questions directly to you, written testimony and to your letter to the President on February 21 1994 , in which you talk in your first sentence a little bit about your decision regarding recusal, and assure the President that you tried to act with the Administration's best interests in mind. Wen you say the decision to have the meeting with your staff was dumb It probably was. But the Treasury cant claim all the territory for dumb mistakes. We make a number of them here, too. There is a question later on, thou gh I'll skip over a couple of paragraphs, but later on you say, gut after my testimony on Thursday, it became clear that appearances of a conflict were tak. ing hold. I was advised that the Administration could be hammered over this for some time." Who advised you on that? Mr. ALTMAN. I largely advised myself, but I had some conversations with our public affairs people that day, quite a few conversations. Senator CAMPBELL. And their names are who? Mr. ALTMAN. I remember calling Mr. DeVore in Texas. We bad, at least, a couple of conversations by phone. I called Mr. Schloss in Germany he's our Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, and we ha a conversation. So at least those two. Senator CAMPBELL. OK, thank you. On age 1 of your testimony, you talked about some poor decisions and other mistakes you had made. Did that refer mostly to your contacts with the staff at the White House? Mr. ALTMAN. I think, in retrospect, the information we conveyed on February 2 should have been done in writing, so it was a mistake to go over there and do it orally. I also think, in retrospect, that I misunderstood one or two of the questions I was asked on February 24 right here in this room, like Senator D'Amato 's question, and if I could go back and do it all over again I would have provided a better answer. Senator CAMPBELL. Now, moving on down in your testimony, let me ask you one other thing, too. You decided you talked-you testified when you decided to leave the RTC, but I don't remember you saving in your testimony why. Mr. ALTMAN. Well, my term under the Vacancy Act was to expire and did expire on March 30 and I stepped down. Senator CAMPBELL OK You also said that RTC investigations are done at the regional level and so that means you weren't involved, in addition to Madison, you just were never involved in anything dealing with RTC investigations; is that correct?