August 3, 1994 - Part 1
August 3, 1994 - Part 1
(09:30:04) PBS funding credits (09:30:12) Whitewater hearings coverage title screen (09:30:24) Hearings hosts NINA TOTENBERG and DON BODE introduce day's hearing from tv studio and they also speak over footage of the Senate hearing room where people are congregating (09:35:10) Hearing begins: HEARINGS RELATING TO MADISON GUAR- ANTY S&L AND THE WHITEWATER DEVEL- OPMENT CORPORATION-WASHINGTON, DC PHASE VOLUME IV WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3,1994 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. The Committee met at 9:30 a.m., in room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Senator Donald W. Riegle, Jr. (Chairman of the Committee) presiding. OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN RIEGLE The CHAIRMAN. The Committee will come to order. Let me welcome everyone in attendance today. It seems like it was not very long ago we were right back here in this room. I think we adjourned last night shortly after 2:00 a.m., so we are back at it this morning, Today we start the fourth day of the hearings being conducted here by the Senate Committee. on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on the so- called Madison Whitewater matter authorized by Senate Resolution 229. I want to just indicate what our plan for the day will be before we go to our first witness today. We will have four panels that will appear before us in the course of the day. The first one will of course consist of hearing wig the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Lloyd Bentsen, who is here us now. The second panel will involve hearing Mr. Eugene Ludwig, who is the Comptroller of the Currency of the United States. The third panel will consist of Mr. Joel 10ein, who is Deputy Counsel to the President. Mr. Neil Eggleston, who is the Associate Counsel to the President. Mr. Clifford Sloan, also Associate Counsel to the President. And Beth Nolan who serves in the same capacity. The final panel will consist of Thomas "Mack" McLarty, the Senior Advisor to the President of the United States Former Chief of Staff to the President. And Ms. Margaret Williams, who serves as Chief of Staff to the First Lady of the United States. As with our prior hearings, we are looking forward to hearing from these witnesses so they can elaborate on the events relating 2 to that aspect of the resolution that we are operating under dealing with the question of whether any improper conduct occurred regarding communications between officials of the White House and the Department of the Treasury, or the Resolution Trust Corporation, relating to the Whitewater Development Corporation and Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association. Senator BOND. Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Yes, Senator Bond. OPENING COMMENTS OF SENATOR BOND Senator BOND. Before you start, I have a parliamentary inquiry that has to do with the schedule. Yesterday, of course, you know for the first time, we heard Mr. Altman accuse Ms. Hanson of misleading him and the Committee and he told us, for the first time yesterday, that when he was asked if there were any contacts with the White House, after I asked him about the criminal referral, he turned to Ms. Hanson and she nodded her agreement with his answer. Now as far as I know this was not brought out in any of his sworn depositions, When he called me to tell me that there had been other contacts that he had known about, he did not mention that. It seems to me that the Committee ought to consider, in light of this new factor, whether it would be appropriate to bring Ms. Hanson back to comment on that, because we do have a conflict between the testimony of Mr. Altman and Ms. Hanson. And since this has just come up, I would just offer for your consideration, along with that of Senator D'Amato, whether it might be worth bringing Ms. Hanson back for follow up questions to see if her recollection squares with that of Mr. Altman as to what he asked her and what her nod in the negative implied at that time. That may have something to do with how we try to resolve the irreconcilable positions that Ms. Hanson and Mr. Altman had in that testimony. The CHAIRMAN. Well Senator Bond, I think it is a reasonable question, and particularly so because it was cited by Mr. Altman yesterday as part of his presentation, and we of course do not know at least her version of what that exchange was about. My initial instinct on this is to suggest-she was here for the better part of 6 or 7 hours, a long period of time. I would be inclined to want to have our-she has been deposed before-to have our Committee investigators depose her on this point, and to draw her out to let her tell her observations or her version of that situation, and then based on that deposition addition or that new deposition on that point, then make a judgment as to whether we need to have her back in here or not? Senator SHELBY. Mr. Chairman.