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Russian Fliers Feted On Visit To Metropolis
Rolling - dull in contrast and imagery Fresh from a greeting in Washington by President Roosevelt, the three Russian Aviators who spanned the North Pole in a flight from Moscow to the U. S. Receive New York City's official welcome at a reception by Mayor LaGuardia at city hall.
Amelia Earhart Down In Pacific On Globe Flight
Rolling - Shaky, dull in contrast and imagery The greatest man-hunt in history spreads over the South Pacific in search of Amelia Earhart Putnam, navigator Fred Noonan and their flying laboratory, forced down in trackless waters on an attempted 'Round-The-World Flight'. Various shots of Amelia and planes flying over ocean looking for her. (disappearance, search and rescue)
July 18, 1995 - Part 1
(10:00:42) In essence, he seems to be saying that the option that supports the public statements is something he can't pursue. The third document is number 237. 1 believe you have focused in on "$1,000 basis so no tax effect, but arbitrary and still risk audit." I believe as well "0 basis with $1,000 gain. Avoid any audit of issue." Here, again, Mr, Foster appears to be going over his options and how he can possibly keep the IRS from auditing the Clintons. He thinks about claiming "$1,000 basis so no tax effect, but arbitrary and still risks audit." He appears to then compare the scenario to the possibility of "0 basis with $1,000 gain," which would "avoid any audit of issue," Despite the fact that he recognizes it is arbitrary, this is ultimately the option Foster chooses. What all these documents tell me is the White House certainly had reason to worry about a Department of Justice search of Vince Foster's office. The documents tell me that, contrary to the assertions the White House has made for many months and as recently as this past weekend, this is not a harmless issue about tax returns. Rather, it's about the finances of Whitewater Development and the fact that Vince Foster couldn't square the First Couple's public statements with reality. Imagining the nervousness of the White House suspecting that these documents and others existed and that they were easily discoverable during the suicide investigation, a great deal of odd behavior is explained. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. We have some time remaining, but we're going to turn. As I said, each side will take approximately a half hour, then we'll go to 10-minute segments as necessary. Senator Sarbanes. Senator SARBANES. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I take it after the half hour on this side, we'll go back to that side for 10 minutes and then back to this side for 10 minutes? The CHAIRMAN. Correct. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PAUL S. SARBANES Senator SARBANES. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I subscribe to the necessity of conducting fair, impartial and thorough hearings. I think it's important that the facts be laid out in a civil manner, that this not become a partisan exercise. The Senate approved resolutions authorizing an examination of the handling of the documents in Foster's office, both last year and again this year. In June 1994, the Senate passed Resolution 229 authorizing The first phase of this investigation, and that resolution provided that the Committee should conduct hearings into whether improper con- duct occurred regarding the way in which White House officials handled documents in the office of White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster at the time of his death. Now, those hearings were not held last year in response to a letter from the Independent Counsel, then Mr. Fiske, who said that there were questions unanswered at this point with respect to the handling of the documents that they were trying to resolve before they could complete the investigation. They therefore asked if the 9 Committee last summer wanted to do public hearings on this particular subject, and the Committee acceded to that request. This year, when we passed the resolution S. Res. 120, which is the resolution governing the activities of this Committee and which provides in section 4 that Consistent with the rights of persons subject to investigation and inquiry, the Special Committee shall make every effort to fulfill the right of the public and Congress to know the essential facts and implications of the activities of officials of the United States Government and other persons and entities with respect to the matters under investigation and study, as described in section 1. The matters outlined for investigation and study in that resolution included in section I are, and I quote:
July 18, 1995 - Part 1
(10:05:48) To conduct an investigation and public hearing into and study of whether improper conduct occurred regarding the way in which White House officials handled documents in the office of White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster following his death. That resolution goes on to specify some other matters which will be looked into, but the Committee is not at this point examining those other matters. Those are to be done later this year in the fall, and today's focus is on the proper handling of the documents in Foster's office. That's the charge we're dealing with here today and in the days to come, Actually, in the many days to come since we have hearings now scheduled for the next 3 and perhaps the next 4 weeks, which I take it would complete this part of our examination of the matters that we've been charged with with respect to the documents. As I understand it, it's our intention to complete this part of the inquiry during this period of time prior to the August recess. The resolution we're operating under authorizes the Committee to expend $950,000, almost $1 million, between now and the end of next February, and it calls on the Committee to "make every reasonable effort to complete, not later than February 1, 1996, the investigation, study, and hearings that are authorized" in this hearing. So that's the framework in which we are operating. In other words, we've been given by the Senate almost $1 million for this inquiry. We've been given a time frame within which we are working. The money is until the end of next February, and we've been charged: The Special Committee shall make every reasonable effort to complete, not later than February 1, 1996, the investigation, study, and hearings authorized by section 1. Section 1 includes the matters that are within the scope of our inquiry, the first of which, as I indicated, relates to the handling of the papers in Vincent Foster's office. Mr. Starr, now the Independent Counsel, has indicated to us that his inquiry would not be impeded by our proceeding to examine the way in which the documents were handled. He first sent us a letter on April 22 with respect to looking at documents and a further letter on January 6 with respect to interviewing and deposing witnesses, whereas Mr. Fiske, last summer, said I don't want you to proceed to look at that matter because we're still conducting an inquiry. Mr. Starr, in effect, indicated to us that his work was such that their inquiry would not be affected or impeded by the Committee moving forward, as we are doing today, in order to examine the Foster papers. 10 Now, having said this, by way of setting the framework in which we find ourselves, there are a number of matters listed in the resolution for examination by the Committee. Those matters were carefully worked out in extended consultations with the Chairman, Actually, these are the so-called scope questions and one can let their imagination run wild, as some have done. There are all kinds of rumors swirling around, There were candidates to be listed for inquiry that I think were clearly beyond the horizon and were not included. We tried to determine the matters that were relevant and appropriate for this inquiry and that's been spelled out in this resolution, and that, in a sense, guides us in our inquiry over the coming weeks and months.
Grey Count Wins Inaugural H'Cap At New Coast Track
Rolling - dull in contrast and imagery - D.O.S A constellation of big movie people witness the opening of the film capital's very own race course, built with money subscribed by the actors themselves. Ten thousand persons see Grey Count gallop to victory in the Inaugural Day Feature. "Cameo shot of - Bing Crosby and James Mason" - Pat O Brien
July 18, 1995 - Part 1
(10:10:46) This is but the first step. I quoted the particular relevant section, and then there are other sections that deal with various matters which this Committee will look into on behalf of the Senate on the basis of the charge that has been given to us by the Senate. Again, we've been given significant resources and counsel has been taken on both sides. I'm encouraged by the degree of cooperation that I perceive has taken place between counsel on both sides in an effort to move forward, as the Chairman said, with a fair inquiry, an impartial inquiry and a thorough inquiry. Let me just make a couple of comments about the hearings that are now before us. We have an extended set of hearings next week, the following week, and possibly into the week after that with the objective of completing the examination of the Foster papers issue before the August break, as I understand it. I think it's important to bear a few things in mind as we hear the witnesses that are going to come before us over the next few days. First, I think it's important to withhold judgment until all information is received. We need to get the facts out to the public. We need to weigh the facts carefully. We need to hear the testimony carefully. I think people will obviously have differing recollections about events. There will be conflicting testimony. I don't find that unusual or extraordinary, given that we're talking about events that happened more than a couple of years ago. In some respects, it would be extraordinary if everyone had exactly the same story. So, in a sense, we will have to sort out these differing views of what took place and what the implications are of those differences. Second, we have to clearly recognize that many allegations have been made, but allegations are not facts, and allegations need to be subject to a fair, tough- minded evaluation. Our job, I think, here, is to find the truth, to determine what the facts are, and, in the course of these hearings, to lay that out to the public so judgements can be made about what took place. Third, I think it's very important to bear in mind, as we look at people's conduct in the aftermath of Vince Foster's suicide, and to realize that this was an extraordinary, traumatic situation in which people found themselves. For the Foster family and friends and his colleagues and associates in the White House, this was an extraordinarily stressful time. Psychiatrists will tell you that one of the most traumatic experiences, one of the most stressful experiences, people can go through is a suicide of someone to whom they felt close, and it's very clear from some of the depositions we've already received that this had an enormous emotional impact upon people. Grown men and women broke down emotionally. Foster was extremely popular with his working colleagues, and so I simply lay that out because I think it's important, as one looks at how people behaved, to understand the emotional shock that they had experienced. I mean, that comes through at different places that we'll be looking at, just how people were reacting in a very emotional way from what had transpired.
July 18, 1995 - Part 1
(10:15:50) Many of the questions that have been raised, I think, are obviously subject to differing interpretations, and that's one of the things this Committee will have to carefully examine in the days to come. It's also important to recognize that as Deputy White House Counsel, Vince Foster dealt with a range of matters. In effect, there are important privileges with respect to those papers: executive privilege and attorney-client privilege. For instance, we know there was a file dealing with Supreme Court nominees. That's a file over which the executive clearly can assert privilege. Also, attorney-client privilege, since Foster was using some of the personal papers of the Clintons in order to prepare some of their official statements as the Chairman indicated at the beginning, can be asserted. For example, there were mandatory financial disclosure statements that were required. So, as we look at the handling of these documents, I think we need to keep that dimension also in mind. Now, it's my expectation that the Committee will be able to work through the witnesses in the days to come in a very careful and appropriate manner, so as to place ourselves in a position to evaluate the testimony. As I said, the Independent Counsel has indicated that his inquiry has passed beyond this issue and, therefore, we were given the green light; not that we are necessarily bound by that, but it's an important consideration. We've been trying to harmonize our activities with those of the Independent Counsel. Finally, let me just say in closing that these hearings have a tremendous potential to become highly emotional. I've already outlined the fact that much of the conduct we've been examining occurred in the aftermath of the suicide, in the nature of that stressful incident. I think it's very important for the Members of this Committee to try to maintain this inquiry in a civil, rational way. We're here to try to find out what the facts are, to hear the witnesses out, to try to resolve differing recollections and differing interpretations and then to evaluate that. But I think it's extremely important, both for us and for the public, to hear the testimony in full before we undertake the evaluation. I was always taught that's how you're supposed to do it, and I'm hopeful that's what this Committee will do as we now set upon the task of carrying through the fair, impartial and thorough hearings with which we have been charged by the Senate. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Senator Dodd. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD Senator DODD. Thank you, Senator Sarbanes. Is there about 10 minutes left? 12 The CHAIRMAN. I think it's about 10 minutes. If the Senator needs additional time Senator DODD, I thank the Chairman. Mr. Chairman, let me just begin by saluting you and Senator Sarbanes for the very fair and balanced way that I think you've gone about setting up these hearings. The matters before us, as you have pointed out and Senator Sarbanes has suggested, are far too important, I think, to be turned into a political football, and I think it is to your credit that this has not yet happened. Mr. Chairman, I hope we will conduct these hearings, as Senator Sarbanes has just said, in the same spirit of fairness that has characterized their planning.
Thousands Watch As Youth Leaps To Death From Hotel
Shaky dull in contrast and imagery While thousands of horrified spectators jam Fifth Avenue. John W. Ward, 25, defies rescue attempts and ends eleven hours of agonizing suspense by leaping to his death from a 17th floor window ledge of the Gotham Hotel. John Ward seen standing on ledge as people try to coax him back through the window. Police officer on telephone, people seated on double decker bus look up to the sky at jumper, trampoline ? Police officer covers body in the street.
World Wide News Events - Air Raid Toll High
Shaky dull in contrast and imagery - DOS Horror and destruction is wide-spread as Japanese bombers rain death on the city and its civilian population, with pitiful scenes as rescue workers search for victims. Meanwhile girl battalions train for duty with machine guns, marching past camera.
Thousands Homeless In Flood
Shaky dull in contrast and imagery - DOS 13 inches of rain fell in 3 days and turns the Colorado river valley into a watery sea of submerged towns and villages. Several lives are lost and damages run into the hundreds of thousands. Sign for Riverside Camp, flood waters are up to the roofs of the cabins (cottages).
July 18, 1995 - Part 1
(10:20:26) We on this Committee should remember what we're not. We're not the FBI. We're not the Grand Jury or a Grand Jury. We're not prosecutors, nor are we defense attorneys. We're United States Senators carrying out the mandate of this institution and the mandate of a very, very specific resolution. Our charge in this set of hearings is to answer a narrowly tailored question: Did anyone at the White House impede the police investigation of Vince Foster's tragic suicide? That is our mission. Our charge during this phase is not to delve into the details of President Clinton's and Mrs. Clinton's land transactions or to audit their tax returns or to spin wild conspiracy theories. We're going to hear about what people did or did not do in the midst of their grief at a very, very emotional time. We may hear about sloppiness We're probably going to hear about mistakes. We're going to hear a lot about gossip and speculation. But let me emphasize there has never, never been any suggestion that the police wanted to review Whitewater or any substantive file in Vince Foster's office. They were investigating a tragic, tragic suicide. We're going to hear about discrepancies in testimony from witnesses doing their best, in my view, to recollect specific details in the midst of a highly charged emotional event from 2 years ago. I hope, Mr. Chairman that we'll do our best to keep everything we hear and learn during these hearings in that context. We cannot look at people's actions, in my view, in July 1993 in a vacuum, plot them out like steps in a chemical reaction or subject them to the cold microscope of rational analysis. I think we must examine these events for what they were, deeply human reactions to a deeply human tragedy. Mr. Chairman, there are few human experiences more traumatic than experiencing the suicide of a family member, a close friend or colleague, and I hope that each and every one of us will try to put ourselves in the shoes of those who lived through that tragedy. In examining this aspect of our hearings, I think we should ask ourselves how would we have reacted if this would have happened to someone on one of our staffs or to one of our childhood friends ' In the minutes and, literally, minutes and hours and days after this terrible suicide of a very decent man, friends and colleagues understandably acted on instinct, in my view, more than careful thought or plotting. One of the most traumatic and perplexing of human tragedies, a suicide. You've just been informed that some 13 one you're very close to, known all your life, has taken his life. How do you react? What are you thinking about? The people involved here were emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted, in my view, and we cannot expect people in such situations to exercise the clearest possible judgment in every case. The context, Mr. Chairman, is also important because of the nature of the office in question. We're not talking about a crime scene here; the tragic suicide occurred in Fort Marcy overlooking the Potomac River. The suicide of a lawyer does not mean that it is open season on that attorney's files. There are legitimate privacy and executive privilege issues involved, as Senator Sarbanes has pointed out. Think about it, if you would, in terms of a doctor/patient relationship. If your family doctor took his own life, would you want the police rummaging through your personal medical records in your doctor's office? Obviously we have different standards when we're talking about the President of the United States, but I think we should all at least acknowledge the understandable instinct to protect the privacy of the material in Vince Foster's office. To date, Mr. Chairman, as you and Senator Sarbanes in part have pointed out, we have spent at the Federal level more than $10 million in reviewing what is known as Whitewater. Independent Counsels, two offices, IS prosecutors, dozens of FBI agents and IRS agents, this Committee's work, independent investigators, press inquiries. It has been voluminous.
1957 Rose
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Rose Parade '57
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75th Annual Rose Parade
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City Hall