August 3, 1994 - Part 2
August 3, 1994 - Part 2
(11:20:25) And I wonder if you would just share with us how you are going to follow this up? What are you going to do about this? Secretary BENTSEN, Well I think they are right on that. And I think there are things that we have to do. And I assume full responsibility as Secretary of the Treasury. I think, to have clear, distinct understanding when a person is wearing two hats, one is in this instance, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, and on the other hand, Chief Executive for the Resolution Trust, and you have different sets of rules and regulations in the two. Senator MACK. What would the rules of the Treasury have been under this circumstance? Secretary BENTSEN, Well you get into quite a plethora of rules insofar as responsibilities in the Treasury. I do not think I can give you the detail of it. I would be delighted to respond to it subsequently in the record, if you would like. Senator MACK. I think it would be helpful if Secretary BENTSEN. I would be happy to. Senator MACK [continuing]. If we could have some identification of what the rules of the Treasury would have provided with respect to this issue. Secretary BENTSEN. I would be happy to. The rules on when Treasury officials can discuss or confirm the details of a criminal referral are far from clear. That is why I have asked the Justice Department, OGE, and Treasury's own Inspector General to work with the Department in developing guidelines. Senator MACK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. Senator Shelby. Senator SHELBY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Bentsen, Senator Bentsen, I will always call him that, I guess. Mr. Secretary, we are glad to have you over here with us again. I would like to go back into a couple of things that have been disturbing to me and I think some others on the Committee. Let's talk about, for a minute, and see if I understand, that the Office of Inspector General's report here, this is the Inspector General of the Department of Treasury, is that correct? Secretary BENTSEN. That is correct. Senator SHELBY. This investigation I believe at your request or your Secretary BENTSEN. For the Office of Government Ethics, that was my request, and then, but they have no investigative Senator SHELBY. Let's go over it again. Secretary BENTSEN. But lot me make the point and answer your question. 28 But they have no investigative powers, so they called on the Inspector General for that purpose. Senator SHELBY. OK. In other words, the Inspector General was doing the investigation, part of it? You said he had to investigate Secretary BENTSEN. Doing the investigation and, based on that, the Office of Government Ethics. But the Office of Government Ethics points out those areas that they think are important in arriving at a judgment, and directs the IG. Senator SHELBY. Let me go over the sequence of events again briefly with you here. When was this report finished and disseminated to the public? Secretary BENTSEN. Well I think it was this-I do not have the exact date, but it has been in the very last few days. And what I did with that was to release it to the public, and I believe I am correct on this, and as I understand it, the White House came over and picked up a copy at that press conference. Senator SHELBY. Did you release some of the White House before you released it to the public? Secretary BENTSEN. I released to the White House sworn depositions that had been requested by Mr. Cutler, and Mr. Cutler had the authority to come over and interview the witnesses, but yet a time constraint here in trying to get ready to testify before the Congress. And the IG had felt that the White House had been very cooperative in responding to their deposing of witnesses there, and in turn, they felt that they should cooperate to give Mr. Cutler the kind of information he needed to prepare. Now I put a safeguard on that. Senator SHELBY. What was the safeguard? Secretary BENTSEN. As I said, first, I think Mr. Cutler is an excellent attorney, a man of integrity, who has an understanding of ethics and has served, with distinction, two Presidents, and I said, I want these depositions limited to your staff and not shared with the witnesses until this situation is further developed, and the reports, all of the reports are completed. Senator SHELBY. Were these depositions shared with Mr. Altman? Secretary BENTSEN. They were not shared with him until after, my understanding, all of the witnesses had been deposed.