(Tape One) Galapagos mockingbird perched on thin branch, calling, wider shot reveals another bird nearby, first one flies away, remaining bird calls
(10:50:35) Senator SHELBY, You said: -Roger Altman should-handle the RTC investigation of Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan. Initially, we all felt that he should recuse himself to avoid even the appearance of a conflict. And then you get into another word you use. At a fateful White House meeting with Nussbaum, Ickes, and Williams, the White House staff told Roger Altman that it was unacceptable. What was unacceptable, his recusal? Mr. STEINER. Let me clarify, Senator. Senator SHELBY. I don't want you to clarify. Is that your reference that his recusal was unacceptable? Mr. STEINER. My reference is that Mr. Nussbaum made strong arguments against recusal. Senator SHELBY. Mr. Nussbaum. Did anyone else besides Mr. Nussbaum make strong arguments at the White House meeting against Roger Altman recusing himself? Mr. STEINER. I did not attend that meeting, but to the best of my knowledge, no. Senator SHELBY. Then you refer to this Senate Banking Committee oversight hearing, this group of Senators here, at the hearing, and the recusal amazingly did not come up. Obviously, you all were very concerned about it coming up. Mr. STEINER. Could I make a point on that entry if I might, Senator? Senator SHELBY. Yes, sir. Mr. STEINER. We were anticipating 343 Senator SHELBY. You were anticipating questions about it, were you not? Mr. STEINER. We were anticipating questions specifically about why Mr. Altman had not recused himself. I was surprised that those questions did not come up, nor to the best of my recollection did any Senators request that Mr. Altman recuse himself. That surprised me, yes, sir. Senator SHELBY. Mr. Steiner, do you believe that when a Cabinet member, a sub-Cabinet member comes before a Committee like the Banking Committee or any Committee, for an oversight hearing, that they should be forthright, they should be candid, and they should be honest in answering questions? Mr. STEINER. Yes, I do, very strongly, Senator. Senator SHELBY. In your entry here, you also are referring to the oversight bearing by the Senate Banking Committee, and you said, "but ]Roger Altman, RA, gracefully ducked the questions and did not refer to phone calls he had." Is that being candid with this Committee? Mr. STEINER. Senator, I believe what Mr. Altman said, and I'm sure he'll have an opportunity to explain to you exactly what he said himself, but I believe what be said was that he'd had one substantive meeting when we were preparing for his testimony. That was the only meeting that came up as part of our preparations. For example, I did not even recall the October meeting until I was reminded of it some time later. And so, I think, that is the reason Mr. Altman answered the question the way he did. Senator SHELBY. Going back to words, again, when you use the word "substantive meeting" instead of "meetings," was that a way to dodge the real question that was asked by one of the Members of this Committee? That's your reference, isn't that right? He "gracefully ducked the questions." Isn't that your reference? It couldn't be anything else, could it? He gracefully ducked the question by answering, "I had one substantive meeting," rather than being honest and candid and telling the Banking Committee of all the meetings he had. Mr. STEINER. Let me be clear on this, Senator. I think, to the best of my knowledge, that Mr. Altman was truthful and forthright before this Committee, and when he answered that question, he referred to the one substantive meeting that he knew about. Senator SHELBY. Well, if he was honest, forthright, and candid before this Committee, why did you put in your diary that he gracefully ducked the question? Mr. STEINER. I cannot recall, Senator, why I wrote the words that I did. Senator SHELBY. We've got a convenient memory here today, but these diaries speak for themselves, don't they? Mr. STEINER. Senator, I'm here testifying today under oath. I've already stated the circumstances in which I wrote these, and I'm being as forthright as I possibly can. Senator SHELBY. Mr. Chairman, one last word I want to touch on, You also put in your diary, we spent a tortured day trying to decide if he should recuse himself. Do you recall using that word, a "tortured" day to describe the day? That was a tough day, was it not? 344 Mr. STEINER. It was a tough day, Senator, that's correct.
(Tape One) Sea lions on beach, lolling on the sand and in the water, enjoying themselves in the surf 04:30:20 Sea lions laying on the sand, they seem to be sleeping or sunbathing 04:30:29 Smaller sea lions goes up to bigger sea lion and lays down, cuddling up to him, sleeping in packs (*This is continued on 2028 Part Two), sea lions changing position for warmth and comfort (Tape Two) 04:32:44 CU of a sea lion laying in the surf, waves washing over him, sea lion walking out of water onto sand to lay by another, coming out of water, MS side view 04:33:31 Sea lions floating in the current
(Tape One) LS zebra killed by a crocodile, piece of zebra's pelt poking up from muddy water, zoom into a large portion of the carcass floating on the water 06:31:58 Trio of zebra in water drinking, LS of group in middle of waterhole drinking, one zebra leaves, one zebra arrives, drinking, zebra wading through water 06:34:49 LS of pair of zebra in water drinking, MS of head of zebra leaning forward while drinking, get scared, leave, LS of herd in water or on bank 06:36:06 Zoom in on three zebras drinking while standing in water, walking out of waterhole
TAPE 1 Prairie dog at burrow sits upright Prairie dog at burrow chirping Prairie dog at burrow zoom in Prairie dog at burrow Prairie dog digging claws Prairie dog, ear Prairie dog sits erect Prairie dog sitting erect and digging claws Prairie dog close up Prairie dog close up Prairie dog digs in dirt Prairie dog digs in dirt Prairie dog moves dirt, gives alarm call Prairie dog comes out, sits erect - note claws Prairie dog claws, pushes dirt and packs with nose Prairie dog claws, pushes dirt and packs with nose Prairie dog claws, pushes dirt and packs with nose
TAPE 1 13 lined ground squirrel close up in its burrow
TAPE 1 Cottontail rabbit feeding
TAPE 1 13 lined ground squirrel comes out of its burrow and feeds
TAPE 1 Prairie dog burrow Prairie dog at burrow chirping alarm 5 prairie dogs at burrow chirping alarm Prairie dog at burrow, 1 gives alarm call Prairie dog at burrow feeding 4 prairie dogs at burrow feeding Prairie dog at burrow chirping alarm
TAPE 1 Gray squirrel in tree jerking tail nervously
TAPE 1 Cottontail rabbit standing erect to feed, eats and sleeps
TAPE 1 and 2 (Tape 2 starts at TC 03:15:00) Big male woodchuck feeding Young male woodchuck on hay bale in rain Young woodchuck feeding on grass Young woodchuck on hay bale CU Young woodchuck feeding on grass and standing errect
TAPE 2 Cottontail rabbit eating weed heads Cottontail rabbit eating weed heads
TAPE 2 Young muskrat swims and dives, see him underwater Young muskrat swims and dives, see him underwater Young muskrat dives and swims underwater
(10:55:11) The CHAIRMAN. Senator Shelby, I don't want to be arbitrary in cutting you off, but we're holding everybody to the time limit. This is important and we'll come back to it. Senator SHELBY. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Mack. OPENING COMMENTS OF SENATOR CONNIE MACK Senator MACK Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Steiner, I want to just continue on with a question or two. This goes back to the recusal discussion earlier. I think you were asked, a few minutes ago, why you recommended that Mr. Altman recuse himself. Mr. STEINER. That's correct. Senator MACK. I think what you said was something like the political pressure is going build. It would be better to do it now to as opposed to later. Is that close? Mr. STEINER. That's correct, Senator, Senator MACK. Were there any other reasons, in your mind, as to why he should recuse himself? Mr. STEINER. Senator, I thought that in the absence of a recusal, it would open him to possible political accusations and I wanted to prevent those accusations from occurring. Senator MACK. What kind of political accusations? Mr. STEINER. The kind that we have seen recently, that he is somehow interfering or trying to protect people through his role as interim CEO of the-RTC. Senator MACK. So it was only the appearance that concerned you, is that correct? Mr. STEINER. Senator, Mr. Altman had made it very clear on numerous occasions, both to the Treasury staff and the RTC staff, that he wanted this case handled in identical fashion to all other cases. What that meant was that at no point did he anticipate making a decision about this case or being involved in the investigation. And in the event that a decision was brought to him, he planned to follow the advice of the General Counsel. Senator MACK. Again, your concerns were not things about confidentiality, about propriety, about conflicts of interest, it was the perception, from a political point of view, as to how it would be received? Mr. STEINER. That's correct, Senator. As I said, Mr. Altman made it very clear that he wanted this case handled in an identical fashion. Senator MACK. I appreciate that. I just wanted to get a clear statement of what your thinking was. Mr. DeVore, I too wanted to welcome you back to the Senate, to this Committee. Calling our attention to the meeting you attended at the White House with Ms. Jean Hanson on October 14, 1993, it is my understanding that this was supposed to be a meeting to discuss press leaks, that is, stories that were likely to appear in the next few days on Madison. Is that correct? Mr. DEVORE. Senator, that wasn't my understanding. My understanding was that when I received the call from the reporter, and 345 I sent word out that the reporter had called me and what he told me, that it was a meeting convened primarily to listen to my account of what the reporter had to say. I was not aware of any stories that were imminent. Senator MACK. Did you set up the meeting? Mr. DEVORE. Not in my recollection, I did not. Senator MACK. Do you have any idea who did? Mr. DEVORE. I do not. Senator MACK. This was a meeting then, to discuss a press inquiry? Mr. DEVORE. Let me not speak to the purpose of the meeting; let me speak only to why I thought I was going to the meeting. I thought I was going to the meeting to tell the White House something I didn't know the knew, and that is that this reporter for a major newspaper had a lot of information on an investigation being conducted by the RTC. Senator MACK. So you were surprised then at what you beard at the meeting? Mr. DEVORE. There were one or two surprises, yes, sir. Senator MACK. What were those surprises? Mr. DEVORE. Well, one of the things I learned is that a couple of other reporters bad been talking to the White House about this matter. I had not been aware of that. Senator MACK. But you thought you were going there to give them information? Mr. DEVORE. Yes, sir. Senator MACK. Do you remember who was at the meeting? Mr. DEVORE. Yes, sir. From the Treasury, it was Jean Hanson, Josh Steiner, and me. From the White House, it was Bernard Nussbaum, Bruce Lindsay, , Mark Geron, and there were some other people whose names I didn't know who were in and out of the meeting. Senator MACK. The point was that most of those people, as I understand it, were attorneys doesn't say anything about what the meeting was all about? Mr. DEVORE. I don't understand your question. Senator MACK. I was under the impression, frankly, that this was a meeting that was called for the purposes of discussing press inquiries. I bad just assumed that it was going to be a meeting of press types and was surprised when I saw the list of people who were there. It seemed like it was a group of attorneys.
Rains and winds of near-hurricane force sweep Europe from Scandinavia to Spain - the worst such storm in 75 years. The entire continent followed the news about a fight to save the freighter "Gertrude Luhrs". The vessel went ashore at Stade along the River Elbe and the crew battled for 12 days to save her. Salvage experts said it couldn t be done but the dedicated men safely floated their vessel. Ships docked at their berths because of the severity of the winter storm. A truck making its way through the flooded street. A flooded warehouse, packages floating in the water. A flooded building. Front door ripped off its door hinges. A tug boat "Goliath Hamburg" and cargo ship the "Gertrude Luhrs" ran a ground. High pressure hose cutting away the mud. The bow of the Gertrude Luhrs and men working around the clock to set her free from the mud and get her back into deep water by cutting a new channel beneath the ship. Man with a jack trying to lift up the bow of the ship. CU Faces of the men who worked to set the Gertrude Luhrs free as she start's to move as the tug, Goliath pulls her from her prison.
(Tape One) Ghost crab, then quickly disappears sideways into hole, ditto 01:41:20 Crab with pitchers and arms full of wet sand, digging hole, another crab watches, scares away watcher 01:44:39 Crab digging hole, closer 01:46:10 Crab scurrying around picking up brown round objects and eating them, pretty cool 01:46:42 More digging, closer view
(Tape One) Folks at barrel post office, Floreana Island, three women and one man stand around outdoors near two peaked roof mail boxes looking through letters, another man joins them
(Tape One) Fly catcher sitting on thorny branch, flies off, on branch 01:48:10 Large billed fly catcher on sand, on rock
(Tape One) Sunrise at Rabida, beautiful silhouette of the land against a stunning yellow sky and golden touched sea, closer and longer shots
(Tape One) Sea lions laying in the sand and surf, tour ship anchored, zoom out
(Tape One) Ghost crab running, sand and rocks
(Tape One) Sea lions playing in the water along shore, yacht coming into Galapagos Islands 01:50:48 LS of the yacht traveling, sea lions calling
(Tape One) Large billed fly catcher on branch, various shots 01:52:20 Backview of fly catcher on tree branch, various other shots 01:53:44 Zoom into bird on stick, zoom out to show man holding the branch the bird is sitting on, shots of bird on different branches