August 4, 1994 - Part 1
August 4, 1994 - Part 1
(09:40:33) Ms. WILLIAMS. Yes, Senator, that is correct. Senator D'AMATO. And you then called up some people to get them together because Roger was coming over to make that announcement? MS. WILLIAMS. Well, what Mr. Altman said to me, when he called me, and I do not remember if he called me specifically, if that was the reason for his call. It could have been other things, like Health Care too, but then he said I have decided not to recuse myself, and I would like to tell some people there. And as my statement reflects, I am not quite sure if he told me who to gather, or I just guessed who should be involved. Senator D'AMATO. Did he mention George Stephanopoulos, to get him? MS. WILLIAMS. As I said, I do not recall how we actually came to that. He could have named the people that he wanted to talk to, or I could have just guessed that this would be the group. Senator D'AMATO. Let me ask you something. In the case of Whitewater, have you ever expressed your opinion, and I am now quoting from a diary that Mr. Altman had, that "Hillary Clinton was paralyzed by it, and if we do not solve it within the next 2 days, you do not have to worry about her schedule on Health Care"? This is Mr. Altman saying that you told him this in his notes, and he quotes you on this. I know you have heard about the diary and you have had occasion to see these notes. Did you have a conversation with Mr. Altman about Whitewater and the impact it was having on the First Lady? Ms. WILLIAMS. To the best of my recollection, I did not have a conversation with Mr. Altman where I characterized Mrs. Clinton as paralyzed. First of all, if you look at Mrs. Clinton's schedule in December, in January, in February, paralyzed would be far from the word one would use to describe her. So I just find it difficult to think of myself as having said the word paralyzed. Additionally Senator D'AMATO. But did you have a conversation with him in which you may have expressed "paralyzed" and he used it and he quoted you, you said "paralyzed", and he puts it in quotes? Did you 279 have occasion to speak with Mr. Altman as it related to the impact Whitewater was having on the First Lady? Ms. WILLIAMS. Senator D'Amato, as I had said before, to the best of my recollection, I did not have a conversation with Mr. Altman. Senator DAMATO. All right. That is, you know you had conversations but not as it related to the mental state of the First Lady in relationship- Ms. WILLIAMS. Senator, may--excuse me, I do not mean to interrupt but I think that I can give you more help in clarifying my state of mind, which I am happy to talk about. My state of mind during this period was that I was saying to everyone, Mr. McLarty, anyone who would listen to me on the staff, that Whitewater was a distraction from the President's agenda, and we needed to work on a coordinated response. So that is what I was saying during that period of time. I would never talk about Mrs. Clinton's state of mind to anyone, so I am surprised to see that Mr. Altman has quoted me in a diary saying so. I would not say that. Senator D'AMATO. OK, he has one other thing. He says, "Maggie's strong inference was that the White House was trying to negotiate the scope of an Independent Counsel with Reno, and having enormous difficulty." Do you recall ever speaking to him about the Independent Counsel and Mrs. Reno negotiating the scope, and they were having enormous difficulty? Ms. WILLIAMS. Senator, I can say with absolute certainty that I did not have a discussion related to the scope or negotiating the scope. senator D'AMATO. Limiting the scope? Ms. WILLIAMS. Yes. Senator D'AMATO. OK, all right. It is just in the diary and it is something, I think, that if it came to your attention, you would ask the same thing, but we will get back to that later. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Sarbanes. OPENING COMMENTS OF SENATOR SARBANES Senator SARBANES. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.