August 3, 1994 - Part 3
August 3, 1994 - Part 3
(13:05:43) I would make the point that you were in an inherent conflict situation there yourself. If that question is presented to you and even if you wanted to express an opinion-because you wear two hats, you're there as Treasury Secretary, you're also there in this other duty as the head of the Oversight Board where you're restricted from getting into any of these cases in any manner shape or form, So if somebody comes to you and asks you whether they should take an action that, in effect, is going to relate to one case or another, you're under an injunction, by the very rules of that other assignment to not take that decision. You can't do it and you didn't. Your testimony is you stepped back from that and Secretary BENTSEN. That's the way I interpreted it. The CHAIRMAN. And as you should have. I would argue that if you had, in fact, said something to him as to what he should have have done right then, I think you crossed a line that would violate this other charter you have and I don't think that would have been proper to do, quite frankly. Secretary BENTSEN. I agree with that, Mr. Chair-man. Senator DAMATO. In light of what you know now, do you think that his failure to recuse himself until the day before The New York Times article, and only because The Times called him up and told them they were going to write an article on why he didn't recuse himself, do you think that he comported himself according to the manner in which he should in his position? Secretary BENTSEN. Mr. Chairman--Senator, let me state that with as much as I know about it now, I would recuse myself Senator D'AMATO, OK. That's fair. Secretary BENTSEN. That's it. The CHAIRMAN. His comment was he thought that was fair. He was acknowledging your statement. Senator D'AMATO. I would make an observation as it relates be- cause I detect here an obvious thrust and it doesn't-you have not initiated it but it's one that has been, I think, rather well-orches- trated by Mr. Altman. I made the analogy of Mr. Altman that he seems to me as the kind of guy, if he's on a sinking ship, throws the women and children over and I think he did that with Mrs. Hanson. I think he did that with Josh Steiner. For us to really believe that Mrs. Hanson-and you didn't have these facts and maybe an opportunity to review them-that Mrs. 59 Hanson went over there for the first time to the White House on September 29th shortly after she came on board. This is early on in 1993, this wasn't subsequent, Only been there a short time. She took it upon herself to call up Bernie Nussbaum and go over there in light of the memorandum that she had prepared the following day, a memo to Mr. Altman-you cannot believe it. It just- and this is-I can't believe it. It is just incomprehensible. She's just on the job, she comes in there, she calls up the White House Counsel to go brief him. Now, when we look at that in connection with other activities, there's a pattern. People do things in certain ways. Her story is much more believable when you look at Mr. Roelle, who has nothing to hide, a career civil servant. He's the fellow who initiated the first call on September 29th. When he calls the second time on October 6th, he says he hears and-he's there when Mr. Altman says to Jean Hanson, call Bernie and Jack and the Secretary. Now we've got a whole new situation. We're going to try to have a new scapegoat because he pretends maybe he didn't know what was happening because she shakes her head one way or the other. It is one of the most inventive, creative processes. And of course the letters that he sends on the 2nd and 3rd, well, that's her fault. The fact that the White House, uncontroverted, called him and told him about this, but he insists on responding in this manner with, oh, but that's her fault. And the letter on the 11th which he sends without her, again, I don't know whose fault that is. It is always somebody else's fault. It is always somebody else that has changed the facts and that's what we have with Mr. Altman and those are the depositions and those are the facts and that's how I see it.