August 3, 1994 - Part 4
August 3, 1994 - Part 4
(14:45:26) Mr. LUDWIG. Well, sir, I characterized the way I remember it in my statement and that is that I knew there was press interest and I thought it was appropriate to let them know there was press interest since these were public documents. Senator DAMATO. Just one last question. Why did you call Maggie Williams on January 19th to give her your advice and counsel? Why Maggie Williams? Mr. LUDWIG. I had learned I think from either the newspapers or scuttlebutt or somewhere that she was in charge of the Whitewater matter, and that's why I called her. Senator DAMATO. Somehow you got this perception that she was interested or in charge of it. Did you ever speak to her-prior to your call and your advice, did you ever have occasion to speak to her about Whitewater? Mr. LUDWIG. Not that I recollect, I did try to get her to give her this advice on a couple of occasions. That's reflected in my phone logs which I've provided to the Committee, but to the best of my recollection, I've never spoken to her before or since. Senator D'AMATO. OK, thank you. Mr. Chairman, I don't know whether Senator Bond would like to continue on my time or whether it would be better to move over to the other side so he could have a full Senator BOND. Why don't we allow the other side to go forward. Senator DAMATO. I yield back my time. Senator SARBANES. Mr. Ludwig, this kind of call you made to Maggie Williams, was in what, January the 9-when was that call? Mr. LUDWIG. I believe, Senator, it was January 19, 1994. Senator SARBANES. And what prompted you to make it? Mr. LUDWIG. Well, sir, as I said in my statement, reading the newspapers day after day, there was a constant trickle of information about Whitewater. I thought hard about what I could say about this and it seemed to me that what I could say that was perfectly appropriate was that everything ought to be disclosed if it hadn't already been disclosed. I didn't know whether it had already been disclosed, As Secretary Bentsen testified this morning, he evidently spoke with Mr. Stephanopoulos and said the same thing. I felt the same way as Secretary Bentsen. After having practiced law in Washington for 20 years, it seemed to me that in this kind of a matter the best thing to do is disclose and I felt it was appropriate for me to say that. 68 Senator SARBANES. So you felt, given your experience and perceptions, that you might be helpful by calling them and giving them that advice? Mr. LUDWIG. Yes, sir. Senator SARBANES. You say in your statement that was the third occasion of contact Mr. LUDWIG. Yes, sir, Senator SARBANES [continuing]. "Aside from occasional passing references in the course of other discussions, " and I'd like you to elaborate a little bit on what constitutes "occasional passing references in the course of other discussions." What is that phrase intended to encompass? Mr. LUDWIG. Well, sir, you could not, during that period and I think it's true today, meet with anybody whether it's a relative or somebody here in the Congress or in the White House or the Treasury without somebody saying, oh, look, Altman's on the front page or it's Whitewater again or something of that nature. There were not discussions, not a subsequent exchange of nonpublic information--just a word about newspaper or television reports. Senator SARBANES. So that's intended then to refer to those kinds of references and "passing references" in the course of other conversations? Mr. LUDWIG. Yes, sir. Senator SARBANES. I don't need to parse those words very carefully. Mr. LUDWIG. No, sir. Senator SARBANES. So apparently we have testimony from some of the people in the Counsel's Office that they talked to you, but you're not certain that you talked to them; is that right?