August 3, 1994 - Part 4
August 3, 1994 - Part 4
(14:30:34) I tried to call Mr, Nussbaum, but I did not get through. Instead, I got passed along from one person to another in the White House Counsel's Office. I amnot sure I remember all the people I spoke with in this series of phone calls. I know Cliff Sloan has testified that he spoke with me at some point in this series of calls. This is entirely possible, but I do not recall it. I do recall speaking with Bill Kennedy and Joel Klein. In my conversation with Mr. Kennedy, I again sought a general sense of what Whitewater was about and whether I could appropriately advise the President about it. I do not remember getting any new information from Mr. Kennedy. I do recall that lie, too, seemed to have reservations about my advising the President on this subject. Mr. Kennedy recommended that I speak to Joel Klein. I believe Mr. Klein was not available when I first tried to reach him, and that he subsequently called me back. I then learned that 64 he was also attending the Renaissance Weekend. I do not remember clearly whether we finally spoke in person or on the telephone, We were both part of a large informal dinner group that evening, and the conversation could have occurred then, but my best recollection is that we spoke by phone. I do clearly remember that he was very negative about the idea of my advising the President on these matters. Reflecting on the President's question and the reactions of Jean Hanson, Bill Kennedy and Joel Klein, I concluded that I could not appropriately give the President legal or regulatory advice relating to Whitewater. I felt, in the end, that any effort to provide informed advice could lead me into discussions with the President and others that might be inappropriate for me as a regulator and director of the FDIC. The next day, I literally bumped into the President and Mr. Klein in the hallway near a seminar room. Without further discussion, we all agreed that I should not provide advice to the President about these matters. That was the end of it. The President did not ask me to advise him about Whitewater, but rather whether it would be permissible for me to advise him. Upon reflection, within less than a day, we all concluded that I should not. And I did not. Everyone involved, including the President, took great care to avoid any inappropriate actions. No advice was given. No confidential information changed hands. The third occasion on which I recollect contact with a White House or Treasury official regarding Whitewater-aside from occasional passing references in the course of other discussions-was January 19, 1994. 1 was concerned about the steady trickle of news stories about Whitewater. I concluded that I could properly offer the White House one piece of advice drawn from my years of legal practice in Washing-ton: disclose everything. I called Margaret Williams, Hillary Clinton's Chief of Staff, to say just that. I had no way of knowing if anything remained undisclosed at that point. I also told her I thought they should put at least one person to work full-time on the matter, if they had not already done so. I do not recall Ms. Williams saying anything other than "thank you." I did not ask for and we did not exchange any information. There were no follow-up communications.