July 18, 1995 - Part 1
July 18, 1995 - Part 1
(10:45:26) In his report on Mr. Foster's death, Special Counsel Robert Fiske determined, and I quote--and if you've ever heard convoluted words I quote "what we can conclude is that there is no evidence that he"--Mr. Foster-"did have a concern against a background in Whitewater/Madison issues were neither a matter of expressed concern in the White House nor the subject of media attention." Now, when you filter that, what Robert Fiske said was that there was no evidence the White House scandal had anything to do with Mr. Foster's state of mind prior to his death. From the prior Whitewater hearings, we know that is false and not true. In the course of these hearings, I think it will become obvious not only was Mr. Foster concerned about Whitewater, but so were several other White House officials, including White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum and Hillary Clinton's Chief of Staff and longtime friend Maggie Williams. Both have admitted to removing Whitewater documents from Mr. Foster's office after his death. In fact, a Secret Service agent will testify he personally watched Maggie Williams take documents from Vince Foster's office the night of his death. Ms. Williams has denied that she took any documents that night and claims to have passed a lie detector test, but we have not been given a copy of the test or the results of the test, nor do we know how many tests she took, and these are crucial in determining the accuracy of the test or tests. Mr. Chairman, this Committee should demand to get a copy of that test and the results of all questions asked, and should know if there were more than one test. Today, I call on the White House to release the test or tests, however many there were, and all information relating to them to this Committee. Why were so many people concerned about the failed Whitewater land deal of President and Mrs. Clinton? The facts show that the reason for such great concern is that the Clintons claim to be equal, 50/50 partners with Jim McDougal in Whitewater. In reality, Jim McDougal used a federally-insured savings and loan to bail out the Clintons, and that savings and loan went broke, costing the taxpayers of this country, costing over $50 million, It fell upon Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster to help determine whether or not the Clintons should declare a loss on their tax return for the Whitewater fiasco In a handwritten note found in his files, Mr. Foster expressed great concern about reporting the loss on the Clintons' 1992 tax re. turn. Because being required to document them in an audit would be-and I quote, and we've heard earlier, but-"a can of worms you shouldn't open." I think that's something we need to focus on, "a can of worms you shouldn't open." The can of worms has been opened, mainly as a result of Mr. Foster's death and in no thanks to the White House, which has consistently impeded this investigation. Mr. Chairman, I have no doubt that Vince Foster was a man of the highest ethical integrity. In fact, in a commencement speech at his alma mater shortly before his death, Vince Foster said-and I quote---"the reputation you develop for intellectual and ethical integrity will be your greatest asset or your worst enemy." Unfortunately, for this White House, their reputation for ethical integrity has become their worst enemy. Mr. Chairman, I want to dispel the notion that we keep hearing of White House cooperation. Anything we have gotten from the White House has been comparable to eating ice cream with a knitting needle. We pick out a little, and they let a little and hold a little. The White House has said they want to cooperate fully with our investigation, yet they require a 24-hour armed guard stand watch over the documents they submit to this Committee. Now, this is far better than they were able to do on the night of Vince Foster's death. Everyone who sees the documents has to sign a confidential agreement, yet the White House has leaked excessively to reporters to get their story out.