July 25, 1995 - Part 2
July 25, 1995 - Part 2
(10:30:49)(tape #10120 ends) the Counsel's Office? Mr. WATKINS. She reported to me that she ran into Maggie Wit-' liams and Bernie Nussbaum there, and they were grief stricken, and they all sat on the sofa and cried. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Now, your testimony is that you do not recall Sergeant Braun asking you whether Mr. Foster's office could be locked; is that correct? Mr. WATKINS. That is correct. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. I'd like to clarify, if I can, this recurring question of the use of the terms "seal" and "lock." I thought we had established, with Park Police Officers Braun and Rolla, that the request was to see whether the office could be locked. Did you know whether the office had a lock on it? Mr. WATKINS. Not specifically, but I assumed it had a lock on it because it was the Counsel's Office and the Chief of Staffs Office had a lock. The Counsel's Office had a lock. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Now, at some point the next morning there was a formal request from the Park Police with respect to securing. that office; is that correct? Mr. WATKINS. I learned of that later, yes. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. At some point that morning, a Secret Service guard was posted at the door and later in that day, a lock was physically installed; is that correct? Mr. WATKINS. Again, I learned of all that later. Once the meeting the next morning was held in my office-there was a meeting held in my office to go through the process of how the investigation was going to be conducted-this was by the Park Police-I went off the radar screen as to any involvement in there because that had been turned over to Mr. Nussbaum. I was involved in making travel arrangements and funeral arrangements for the funeral. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Let me ask you, Ms. Mathews, about matters, involving your involvement on the evening of July 20, 1993. Working backward, from the time you left the White House that evening or in the early morning hours of the next day, can you tell us what time you left the White House? Ms. MATHEWS. Approximately 1:30 in the morning. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. SO you had been at the White House continuously throughout the evening until 1:30 in the morning? Ms. MATHEWS. Yes, sir. 251 Mr. BEN-VENISTE. So, in terms of the time sequences here, if you were to work backward from the time that you looked through the trash and later looked for the burn bag material, this was fairly late in the evening; is that correct? Ms. MATHEWS. I'm sorry. As I've said before, I can do sequencing, but as far as time within the evening, I don't recall. Mr. BEN-VENISTE, In sequencing, working back from the time you left the White House, can you approximate when it was that you began to look for the trash? Ms. MATHEWS. Sometime after 10 p.m. to 10:45 would have been the time, because that's the time we've established-that approximately somewhere in that time I went upstairs to gather my papers and my work, sometime after that block of time. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. You walked down to the Counsel's Office? Ms. MATHEWS. I'm sorry? Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Then did you go back down to the Chief of Staffs Office? Ms. MATHEWS. I went to the Chief of Staff's secretarial suite. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. At some point, a telephone call came in where you overheard Mr. Burton's side of the conversation? Ms. MATHEWS. Yes, sir. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. OK. So now we are how far along in the sequence? Ms. MATHEWS. That happened after I had gone upstairs to get my work. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. So we're somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 p.m. or 11:15? Ms. MATHEWS. It depends on what time I went upstairs, 10 p.m. or 10:45, when that occurred. I'm sorry, I don't remember.