July 25, 1995 - Part 2
July 25, 1995 - Part 2
(10:50:20) Mr. BEN-VENISTE. At that point, you advised the same uniformed division officer that you had no further need for that material? Ms. MATHEWS. I don't remember exactly how that took place and who I called, but yes, I do remember it was being taken care of and the bag would go back for processing. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions at this moment. The CHAIRMAN, Senator Bond. OPENING COMMENTS OF SENATOR CHRISTOPHER S. BOND Senator BOND. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Watkins, we have bounced around a number of these questions and I would like to get this in context so we can be clear and understand it. The Secret Service, on the night of July 20, 1993, informed you of the finding of Mr. Foster's body. Mr. WATKINS. Yes. Senator BOND. You called the Park Police, it was your understanding they were the law enforcement agency that had found the body and were investigating the death; is this correct? Mr. WATKINS. Yes, Senator, that's correct. Senator BOND. They took you with them to the house of the Foster family? Mr. WATKINS. That is correct. 257 Senator BOND. Sometime during that car ride, either in direct conversation or overhearing a conversation, you learned that no note had been found? Mr. WATKINS. Yes, sir. senator BOND. You subsequently discussed that fact with Mr. McLarty and Mrs. Foster at the house? Mr. WATKINS. Sometime in the evening at the house, yes. Senator BOND. You then beeped your Deputy, Ms. Patsy Thomasson, and asked her to go look for the note in the Counsel's Office? Mr, WATKINS. Yes. Senator BOND. But you did not talk to Mr. Nussbaum, the Counsel? Mr. WATKINS. No, sir. Senator BOND. Did you in any way indicate to the Park Police, the investigative body, the Secret Service or anyone with investigative authority that you were directing Ms. Thomasson to go look for the note? Mr. WATKINS. No, Senator. At the house-while at the house, I had very little conversation with the Park Police. There were a lot of other people around, I was trying to get telephone numbers for people in Arkansas Mrs. Foster wanted notified. I had conversations with Ms. Bowman, one of the sisters who was a close friend Of mine. Senator Pryor was there. I had a lot of conversation with him, and I did not engage in much conversation with the Park Police. Senator BOND. You did not know when Ms. Thomasson called you back, whether she could have even gotten access to Foster's office; is that correct? Mr. WATKINS. I assumed that she could have. As I said, she was very involved in handling all matters, to deal with the facilities and the offices in the White House. Senator BOND. But she was a political appointee, not employed by the Counsel's Office, not directly responsible to the Counsel's Office; she did not have at that time, for whatever reason, a security clearance? Mr. WATKINS. As I said earlier, I'm not confident that I knew she didn't have a security clearance at the time. Part of her responsibility as Director of Office of Administration was facilities. There was a department called facilities, facilities management, and that was under her supervision. Senator BOND. Notwithstanding that even though this was an investigation of a violent death, it's your testimony that you chose to rely on your Deputy, a political appointee, rather than the Park Police, the Secret Service or any other investigative agency, that you asked her to go and make a search of Mr. Foster's office? Mr. WATKINS. Senator, I asked her to look for a note. We were concerned and inquiring about the why, and was there possibly a note at his office. I also knew that the Park Police had been in touch with the Secret Service for some 5 hours prior to making that request. I'm not slamming the Park Police at all, but they had not shown a locality of interest, to me at least, in the office of Vince Foster. I assumed that if this had been of great concern with them, they would have contacted the Secret Service, whom they had been in touch with.