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July 29, 1994 - Part 1
(10:16:38) OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ALFONSE M. DAMATO Senator D'AMATO Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, 2 years ago, the American people first heard of an Arkansas company called Whitewater; of an Arkansas savings and loan called Madison; and of the mysterious web of relationships surrounding Arkansas Governor Bill I Clinton. When Mr. Clinton came to the White House, the Whitewater cloud trailed behind him. Now, regrettably the White House has sacrificed the proper administration of justice on the altar of Whitewater. This Committee has learned, and the American people will see, that the White House has concealed, disguised, and distorted the truth, all in the service of politics and the President's self-preservation. To these ends, this Presidency has taken advantage of confidential agency information, To these ends, this Presidency has fought to keep control of an investigation affecting the President personally. To these ends, high officials of this Presidency have deceived this very Committee, or have countenanced that deception. The New York Times observed earlier this week, the central question for these hearings is a question posed by the Senate 20 years ago: "Whether people in positions of public trust manipulated the machinery of Government to deflect the truth." Mr. Chairman, I'm sorry to say that even now the Committee has not been given the necessary authority and latitude to examine the facts of Whitewater and Madison Savings & Loan-the facts that some have worked so desperately to bide. But we have learned some important things. We know that the RTC was examining Madison Savings & Loan in 1992, and made a criminal referral to the Department of Justice in the fall of that year. We know that in the fall of 1993, the RTC sent nine more Madison criminal referrals to the Department of Justice. And we know that the RTC was investigating whether to bring a civil case involving Madison, Whitewater, and the Clintons. Most important, in mid-February of this year, we knew that the statute of limitations on the civil case against Madison was scheduled to run out on February 28, 1994. Had the limitations period expired as scheduled, the Clintons and their partners in Madison would have been home free--beyond the reach of the civil law. Mr. Chairman, I first requested Committee hearings into the RTC's investigation of Madison last December. Each day closer to February 28 was a day the Clintons were closer to escaping an RTC case against Madison. Then at the last minute, to the complete surprise of the White House, Congress voted overwhelmingly to extend the statute of limitations. The White House strategy was thwarted. What will these hearings show? As early as the spring of 1993, Roger Altman, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and acting head of the RTC, was keenly focused on the issue of Madison and Whitewater. As soon as Mr. Altman was informed in September that the RTC criminal referrals might be forwarded to the Justice Department, he directed his subordinate, Treasury General Counsel Jean Hanson, to disclose that fact to the White House Counsel Bernie Nussbaum. White House Counsel Nussbaum and Treasury Counsel Hanson agreed to create a channel through which multiple further communications on Whitewater would flow. The information Altman and Hanson revealed to Nussbaum, and through him to the rest of the White House in September 1993, was highly confidential and involved criminal referrals that bad not yet even reached the Department of Justice. This was sensitive information which may not be revealed under the RTCs own rules, because of the danger that such a disclosure may alert possible subjects or witnesses and frustrate a criminal case. What's the justification offered for this gross breach of trust? Time and time again, the American people will bear witnesses try to excuse this behavior by claiming that they thought press leaks might occur in the future. Nonsense. Mr. Chairman, there's no "spin control" exception to the RTC rules of secrecy. Mr. Cutler told the House Banking Committee earlier this week that there was no ethical breach in the disclosure of the confidential criminal referrals to the White House, because as far as he could determine, no White House official took improper action based on tills nonpublic information. It is absurd to say that we must rely oil White House assurances that this confidential information was not misused by the White House itself. In January 1994, the Clinton Administration was dragged kicking and screaming into agreeing to having Attorney General Reno appoint a Special Prosecutor, Now we know, through Roger Altman's diary, the Administration was frustrated because they couldn't arm-twist the Attorney General to limit the scope of that prosecutor's investigation. In the words of Mrs. Clinton's own Chief of Staff, the First Lady "doesn't want the Counsel poking into 20 years of public life in Arkansas." Why were they so afraid? What did they want to hide?
Churches, cathedrals, mission
California missions
California mission - priest walking
Churches in L.A.
ON PREVIEW CASSETTE #98464 L.A. in 1940's
Famous Theaters Day
Night Signs
ON PREVIEW CASSETTE 95519 Night signs
Old Hollywood
ON PREVIEW CASSETTE 220167 Old Hollywood, Palm trees, Cafe de Paris
Seafood Market
Seafood Market GVs Woman with umbrella walking below canopy for "Vallera's Cafe - Dilusso Seafood Grotto".
Street Signs - Hollywood
Street sign (Hollywood & Vine)
Hollywood
ON PREVIEW CASSETTE# 201570 Hollywood
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills homes with pools (aerial)
Hollywood
ON PREVIEW CASSETTE # 201570 ?? Hollywood
Cottontail rabbit eating
Master 2138, Tape 1 CU Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus sp.) sitting in grass. The rabbit eats grass. The veins in rabbit's ears are visible.
July 29, 1994 - Part 1
(10:21:48) The evidence will show that at the beginning of this year, the White House was "paralyzed" by Whitewater. "Paralyzed" is not my word. It's the word of Mrs, Clinton's Chief of Staff, as she warned Roger Altman around the New Year that Whitewater threatened to bring Administration initiatives to a halt. It's a message which rang . Roger Altman's cars in January as he confronted yet another investigation into Madison and Whitewaterthe RTC's investigation centering on a possible civil case, Mr. Chairman, in January, the RTC was faced with three choices on Madison and the Clintons: The RTC could file a case by February 28; it could seek a so- called tolling agreement from the private parties, including the Clintons, that would extend the limitations deadline into the future; or it could let the limitations period expire without any case being filed. On January 11 and January 25, several colleagues and I wrote to Mr. Altman urging him, to take appropriate steps to preserve the ' rights by seeking voluntary tolling agreements from all taxpayers I private parties. We insisted that a decision be made before the statute of limitations expired, But the problem was the final decisionmaker, Roger Altman. Altman should have recused himself-removed himself entirely from the Madison case-because of his personal and political relationships with the Clintons. Many Members of Congress thought so. The General Counsel of the RTC thought so, Members of Altman's own staff thought so. Jean Hanson, the General Counsel of Treasury, actually told him so. And the Treasury Secretary himself, Lloyd Bentsen, agreed. But, Mr. Chairman, there was a more compelling reason. Roger Altman knew that his impartiality was fatally compromised when Mrs. Clinton's Chief of Staff unmistakably informed him that the First Lady urgently wanted the Whitewater problem to be "solved." The picture is this: As he approaches the deadline for decision in the highly publicized Whitewater investigation affecting his friends and patrons, the President and the First Lady, Roger Altman, the decisionmaker, is told that the First Lady desperately wants the paralysis of Whitewater to end. Is there any doubt that Mr. Altman labored under an intense and clear and actual conflict of interest? The evidence will show that Mr. Altman understood this actual conflict of interest. He and his Treasury colleagues discussed the fact that filing, suit against the Clintons would be awkward. Mr. Altman's inclination going into the February 2 meeting at the White House was to, in fact, remove himself entirely from the case. Why did he change his mind? As Mr. Cutler himself has admitted, strong comments by White House personnel in this meeting "may have influenced Mr. Altman's decision on February 3 to defer recusal." That's an understatement. As Altman's former aide and Treasury Chief of Staff, Josh Steiner, put it in his diary-a diary written not to prepare for public testimony but at the time of events, when there's no motive to lie-Altman was under "intense pressure" from the White House. Sworn testimony from several witnesses establishes beyond a doubt that the reason the White House urged Altman to stay on the case was the fear that the RTC General Counsel who would take over the decision would be too "tough" on the Clintons. Mr. Altman told those assembled at the White House on February 2 that he would sleep on the recusal decision. He must have had a restless night because even now the full picture of the pressure placed on Altman has not emerged. But we do know from sworn testimony that Altman reversed himself to keep the White House-to use his word---"happy." What are we to make of this? Mr. Cutler concedes-as he mustthat the White House should not have influenced the recusal decision. But he argues "no harm, no foul," because in the end Altman was never faced with the need to participate in a decision about whether or not to bring an RTC case against Madison. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Cutler well knows that the only reason that the White House plan to have Mr. Altman control the decision did not succeed was congressional action unforeseen by the White House on February 2. Because it wasn't until February 11 that Congress gave the RTC Madison investigation a new lease on life when we extended the statute of limitations until the end of 1995. 1 have no doubt that if the unexpected congressional extension had not occurred, the White House effort would have triumphed. But there's an even more important fact-a crucial fact-about the February 2 White House meeting that has not been disclosed until now. This fact demolishes the Cutler conclusion that these White House meetings are forgivable. It is not true, as Mr. Cutler said, that Altman merely imparted public information to the White House. Sworn testimony by Deputy White House Chief of Staff, Harold Ickes, establishes that at the February 2 meeting Altman revealed more than legal procedure: Ickes testifies that he asked Altman about "the progress of the inquiry being conducted by the RTC." Ickes further testifies that Altman answered by telling the White House: "That it was his view, based on information from his sources-and I assumed one of them was the General Counsel of the RTC-that the investigation was going to take a longer period of time to conclude." According to Ickes, Altman said that it was: "Unlikely that the investigation could be completed and a recommendation made by 8 the General Counsel prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations."
Cottontail rabbit scratching
Master 2138, Tape 1 MS Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus sp.) sitting and eating grass. The rabbit scratches behind his face with his hind leg. The rabbit continues eating grass. The rabbit scratches behind his ears. The rabbit eats grass.
Cottontail Rabbit Baby
Master 2138, Tape 1 CU baby Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus sp.) partially concealed by clover. The rabbit is eating.
Gray Squirrel Searching for Food
Master 2138, Tape 1 MS Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) walking over leaf covered forest floor. The squirrel searches for food. The squirrel finds a small nut and eats. He continues looking for food.
Baby Cottontail Rabbit Eating
Master 2138, Tape 1 MS Baby Cottontail Rabbit (Sylvilagus sp.) sitting in clover. The rabbit eats grass. The rabbit hops away.
Action With A Big "A"
Every year the Golden Gloves amateur bouts are a slam-bang affair - and this year's 147-lb class sees knockout after knockout as the youngsters hope to fight their way to future fame and glory. New York, New York Dave Johnson takes on Howard Schneider. Dave swings with his left hand and knocks Howard on the floor. MS - In the third round Dave swings a left and then a right and ends the battle with a TKO. MS - Cecil Lucky fight Freddie Elmer. MS - Cecil Lucky gets Freddie into the corner and the fight is over. MS - Mike Wartola and Joe Bulger to do. MS - Mike Wartola ends the fight in 47 seconds of the first round knocking Joe Boulger down and out. LS - Miles Monague bounces Charlie Dion around like a rubber ball. Miles Monague hits Charlie Dion down and wraps it up in 1 - 12 of the first and it is the third and last.
Bob Hope Entertains Troops
For the 25th year in a row, Bob Hope brings his annual Christmas Show to troops in the field. At Camranh Bay, South Vietnam, he jokes, dances, sings, brings on pretty girls in a two-hour revue which has the GI's screaming for more. Throngs of military men cheering and waving their hands. Low Angle Shot - Dancing feet, camera pans up and it's Bob Hope dancing on stage entertaining the troops. Five soldiers climb a telephone pole in order to get a better look at the show. Joey Heatherton singing and she puts down the microphone and dances with Bob Hope. High Angle Shot - Our US military having a lot of fun, laughing, taking pictures and applauding. Some African American soldiers scattered throughout crowd. A baton twirler, twirling her flaming batons. High Angle Shot - Soldiers applauding. Low Angle Shot - Bob Hope entertaining the troops with Miss World 1966 Reita Faria, India. More US soldiers applauding and having fun. Korean Kittens- three Korean cuties dancing and singing and the US Army enjoying every minute of it..
July 29, 1994 - Part 1
(10:27:39) This was not -merely discussing legal procedure, as Mr. Cutler -would have you believe. Make no mistake about it: It was revealing the bottom line on the investigation. As Mr. Ickes testified, Altman's assessment of the RTC case was not public information. It was not given to Congress. Roger Altman told the White House the single most important fact about the investigation. He told Ickes and others that the investigation probably would not be concluded "until after the statute of limitations bad expired." By then, the opportunity to file suit against the Clintons would be lost. This was the equivalent of giving an opponent a peek at your bole card. Before February 2, as Altman and the White House knew, the Clintons faced the likelihood of being asked to sign an agreement tolling the statute of limitations. But then on February 2, the White House was given Altman's inside information. Armed with that inside information the Clintons could safely reject any RTC request for a tolling agreement, Mr. Chairman, to underscore that point, when Altman later asked the RTC to brief Mr. Kendall, the Clintons' private lawyer, the RTC General Counsel refused. But the Clintons no longer needed a briefing for their lawyer because the White House already had the vital inside information. So the classic question emerges: What did the President know and when did he know it? Mr. Ickes again supplies the answer. Ile testifies that lie informed both the President and the First Lady of the "gist" of the February 2 meeting, the meeting at which Mr. Altman tipped the RTC's ha nds and then bowed to White House pressure to stay on the Whitewater case, Mr. Chairman, this evidence makes it clear why on February 24 Roger Altman deliberately failed to tell this Committee the full details of his February 2 White House meeting. Altman did not dare to open this Pandora's box. He persisted in concealing these facts in each of the four letters he wrote this Committee in a vain effort to supplement the record. And this deception was tolerated by others in the Treasury and in the White House. The White House was shocked by Congress's last minute extension of the statute of limitations. The White House realized that they had lost the chance to strangle the case before February 28. Now, it became critical for the White House to control who would actually handle the case against Madison. And that explains why in the words of Chief of Staff Josh Steiner, George Stephanopoulos "suggested to me we needed to find a way to get rid of Jay Stephens." The American people are entitled to the truth about the actions and intentions of the President, Mrs. Clinton, and other Government officials. The Senate has charged this Committee with conducting a fair and thorough investigation. Mr. Chairman, the American people are about to witness a story that has become too familiar. It will be told in the words of the witnesses under oath. Even more important, we will have the uncensored, candid admissions of the diaries and documents written at a time, when there was no reason to lie. We will see if witnesses, 9 under public scrutiny, seek to distance themselves from the words they wrote while their deeds were still undetected. This is a story of Government officials holding positions of enormous power and solemn public trust, falling short of minimum standards of ethical behavior and avoiding public accountability, it's about a ring of close and overzealous political associates of President Clinton ignoring lessons of history-recent 'history-by attempting to control and influence the actions of agencies intended by Congress to be beyond White House control and influence. It's a out officials who place the personal interest of the President above the people's interest, and about lying to Congress and to the American people in order to conceal this misconduct. The CHAIRMAN, Essentially, all Members were here as we gaveled the hearing to order this morning, SO I'M going to go in order of seniority down both sides in alternating fashion. Senator Sarbanes, let me recognize you at this point.
Humphrey Mission Begins Tour Of Asian Nations
Vice-President Hubert Humphrey begins a tour of Southeast Asia to implement the "Declaration of Honolulu" - the meeting between United States and South Vietnamese leaders that foresees new military and economic facets in Asia's future. The Vice-President's job will be to encourage self-help among Southeast Asian nations to bring faster and more fruitful economic conditions for all. South Vietnam Soldiers standing at an air strip in South Vietnam watching a helicopter land. CU - Vice President Hubert Humphrey wearing a lei around his neck sitting in a audience. MS - Vice President walking through the crowd of South Viennese people. MS - Profile of the Vice President. CU - Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Prime Minister Ky, who is wearing sunglasses. MS - Vietnam children holding up a home-made sign welcoming the Vice President to Vietnam. MS - Vice President Humphrey in a 'New Life Village' that will house refugees from terror of jungle war. MS - South Vietnamese villagers working the soil. ECU - Vice President Hubert Humphrey.