August 3, 1994 - Part 4
August 3, 1994 - Part 4
(14:26:10) Let me make two points about the President's question because press reports may have created some confusion. First, my recollection is not that the President asked me to advise him. My recollection is that he asked me whether I thought I could advise him, that is, whether it would be permissible to give him advice. It was clear to me that the President did not expect and did not want me to do anything inappropriate or improper. 63 Second, some press accounts suggest that the President and I remember our conversation differently. I do not remember exactly what he said that gave me this impression, but I understood the President to be asking whether I could properly provide advice related to financial institutions regulation. The President and White House Counsel Cutler have recently said that the President's interest was narrower, that he only wanted names of people who might comment publicly on these matters. That is not what I understood, but it may well have been what the President intended. Our exchange on this point was brief, perhaps 30 seconds. It took place in a noisy room with many distractions. We could easily have miscommunicated. After the seminar, I went back to my hotel room. I was not sure how to followup on the President's question. I had not followed Whitewater closely in the newspapers, and I did not know much about it, Because he is the President, I wanted to be responsive to him. But having practiced law in Washington for 20 years, I understood the importance of being cautious and careful in responding to such an inquiry. I felt I needed some basic information about the subject. I also wanted to get the sense of others about whether it would be appropriate for me to advise the President on this subject. I wanted to give a well-founded and reasoned answer. My first call was to Josh Steiner at the Treasury Department. As best I can recall, I called him just as a starting point-somebody who could point me in the direction of the right people to speak with about these matters. I think I was also trying to figure out how to reach Jean Hanson, the General Counsel of the Treasury Department. My conversation with Mr. Steiner was extremely brief As best I remember, Mr. Steiner just suggested that I speak to Ms. Hanson. I reached Jean Hanson and had another brief conversation. I told her, as I told others I spoke with later, that I did not want information that was not public. I do not remember exactly what Ms. Hanson said, but I understood from her that the Whitewater matter involved a personal loan of the Clintons, I came away with the impression she did not know much about it. I also recall that she seemed to have reservations about the idea of my providing advice to the President. She suggested that I talk to White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum.