August 4, 1994 - Part 7
August 4, 1994 - Part 7
(15:55:43) I also recall speaking to the President at some point about the RTC's retention of Jay Stephens. The President expressed concern that such a highly partisan individual could have received such an appointment, but he did not ask me to contact Treasury or the RTC, or to take any other action with respect to the Stephens appointment, nor did I take any. I have outlined for you the essence of any conversations that I presently recall having with Mr. Altman concerning the RTC's inquiry into Madison. There was nothing in any of my contacts with Treasury officials that was intended to influence or that had the effect of influencing any RTC decision with respect to Madison. Independent Counsel Fiske concluded that there was nothing illegal about these contacts. In addition, both White House Special Counsel Lloyd Cutler and the Office of Government Ethics reviewed the record on these contacts and have concluded that there was nothing unethical about them. I will answer any questions you may have about these events. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. Mr. Lindsey, why don't you go next here, please. BRUCE IL LINDSEY, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND SENIOR ADVISOR, WASHINGTON, DC Mr. LINDSEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, my name is Bruce Lindsey. I am Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor. I am also from Arkansas and have known President Clinton for over 25 years. I am therefore the person in the White House who generally handles press inquiries related to Arkansas issues. I welcome this opportunity to share with this Committee and with the American people the facts as I know them concerning communications I had with Treasury Department officials in which the RTC investigation of Whitewater or Madison Guaranty was discussed. These conversations occurred after information about RTC referrals involving Madison Guaranty were leaked to the press. My conversation with Treasury officials centered solely around what the 358 press was reporting and how, if at all, we should respond. It was always my understanding that the Treasury officials were simply passing along what they were hearing from the press. In fact, to this day, I do not know the contents of the criminal referrals. Mr. Chairman, I am not aware of any law, ethical rule or principle of common sense that suggests that one Administration official cannot alert another Administration official to the contents of reporters' questions. To suggest that something improper occurred is simply to ignore the facts. Let me briefly state those facts. In late September or during the first few days of October 1993, had a short conversation with Associate White House Counsel Cliff Sloan, and perhaps Associate White House Counsel Neil Eggleston, in which I learned that there had been RTC referrals relating to Madison Guaranty and that the Clintons were incidentally mentioned in the referral document, but not as targets or subjects. I have no notes of this first conversation, but my best recollection is that it was quite brief and that Cliff Sloan alone spoke with me. It was my understanding that leaks had occurred or were imminent and that members of the press were or would be asking about the referrals. I assumed that they wanted me to know this information so that I would not be surprised if I received calls from the press about these referrals. In fact, I did receive such press calls in the coming days and did respond to them. A few days later, on or about October 4, 1993, 1 received a call from Jim Lyons, a Denver lawyer who had been involved in the 1992 campaign, reporting on press inquiries he and others had received which referenced the criminal referrals. I was traveling with the President at the time and briefly mentioned the information to him. I didn't suggest, nor did the President ask, that any action be taken, and none was. The next conversation I had about this matter occurred on October 7 or 8, 1993, a few days after my discussion with the President, and was with both Cliff Sloan and Neil Eggleston. My notes, which have been provided to the Committee, reflect that I was informed in this conversation of specific press inquiries, including information from the press that the apparent criminal referrals included a reference to Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker. I did not have any conversation with the President regarding this conversation.