July 25, 1995 - Part 1
July 25, 1995 - Part 1
(10:10:43) MS. MATHEWS. I'm not certain of the specific title, but it was Chief of Staff to the Chief of Staff, Mr. CHERTOFF. So the Chief of Staffs suite was an area that he generally did his work in? MS. MATHEWS. I'm not exactly sure where Bill Burton's desk was, but he was in that area when he would do things. Mr. CHERTOFF. Were you present for telephone conversations in which you heard Mr. Burton's part of the conversation? Ms. MATHEWS. Only one that I recall. Mr. CHERTOFF. Do you remember who the caller was from anything that you heard Mr. Burton say during the course of the conversation? Ms. MATHEWS. I recall that the call was from the Park Police, but I'm not certain whether that's because I answered the phone call or because I understood it from the conversation. Mr. CHERTOFF. Did you hear Mr. Bur-ton's side of the conversation? MS, MATHEWS. Yes, Sir. Mr. CHERTOFF. Were you there after Mr. Burton had hung up and had conversation with other people? MS. MATHEWS. Yes. Mr. CHERTOFF. You have a recollection of that conversation? MS. MATHEWS. I do. Mr. CHERTOFF. Can you tell us generally what you recall of that conversation? MS. MATHEWS. I recall two things: One, that Bill Burton suggested that the office of Vincent Foster be locked; and two, we had a discussion about the trash. Mr. CHERTOFF. Let me just focus on the first part of that. When you say Mr. Burton suggested that Mr. Foster's office be locked, was that a subject he discussed with the Park Policeman on the telephone? Ms. MATHEWS. I don't recall whether that was discussed. Mr. CHERTOFF. Do you remember that, after the telephone call was concluded, he made that statement? Ms. MATHEWS. It was around the same time temporally, yes. Mr. CHERTOFF. Was it your understanding he made that request or suggestion as a consequence of the telephone call? MS. MATHEWS. I didn't understand cause and effect there, no. Mr. CHERTOFF. I think at this point, Mr. Chairman, I would Yield the balance of my time back and I think Senator Grams had some-. thing. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Faircloth. senator FAIRCLOTH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 245 Ms. Mathews, at the time of Mr. Foster's suicide, you were Robert Rubin's aide at the White House? Ms. MATHEWS. Yes, sir. Senator FAIRCLOTH. Ms. Mathews, you testified in your deposition that after you learned of Vince Foster's death, you went to check to see if the trash had been taken from Mr. Foster's office. Did you, in fact, locate and preserve the trash bag from Vince Foster's office? Ms. MATHEWS. The trash and the burn bag are two separate issues and I think it's important to make sure we distinguish between-they're different in time and procedure. I did preserve the trash. Senator FAIRCLOTH. You were able to see if there was any evidence or any information that might be relevant to Mr. Foster's death in the trash, You preserved the trash that possibly could contain evidence? Ms. MATHEWS. I preserved the trash. Senator FAIRCLOTH, In addition to the trash, are there any special bags for classified documents in the White House that are referred to as burn bags? Ms. MATHEWS. Yes, sir, there are burn bags in the White House. Senator FAIRCLOTH. Were you able to locate the burn bag from Mr. Foster's office? Ms. MATHEWS. No, sir, in the sense that the burn bags are emptied on a daily basis. Therefore, the only thing I identified was a commingled bag. Senator FAIRCLOTH. A commingled bag? Ms. MATHEWS. Yes, sir. Senator FAIRCLOTH. Mr. Foster's office didn't have a burn bag in it? Ms. MATHEWS. I learned that after I had gotten the burn bag, the commingled burn bag. Senator FAIRCLOTH. In Mr. Foster's office you commingled the trash in the burn bag? Ms. MATHEWS. There is a process in the White House that occurs on a regular basis every evening where the uniformed division of the Secret Service comes and empties the individual burn bags into one larger bag, and that larger bag is commingled, So that is what I am referring to.