July 18, 1995 - Part 2
July 18, 1995 - Part 2
(11:30:15) Senator Shelby. ENT OF SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY OPENING STATEMENT Senator SIIELBY. Thank YOU Mr. Chairman- I want to thank YOU for holding today's hearing and for also Mr. Chairman, laying Out so succinctly the focus of these hearings, what the Committee has done and where the Committee is going in pursuing its mandate to examine the facts surrounding the the handling of documents in Vince Foster's office after his death. While Some of these issues have already been exposed in the press, s a Member of this Committee I hope, Mr. Chairman, to further examine with witnesses any interference or improper con- 32 trol by the White House in the investigation of Vince Foster's death. The testimony we will hear before the Committee, I believe, will show several important facts about the handling of documents in Foster's office and the investigation of Vince Foster's death as a whole, Facts, Mr. Chairman, that will clearly demonstrate, in my view, that the level of White House involvement substantially prevented law enforcement officials, the Department of Justice, the Park Police, and the FBI from conducting their investigation according to standard operating procedures. I'll identify just some of these facts the Committee will hear about in the coming days about the White House's involvement in the investigation of Vince Foster's death. First, this Committee will hear testimony that will show that even though the White House was publicly proclaiming that the investigation was being conducted according to standard operating procedure, "just like any other investigation," and that the Park Police was the lead agency in the investigation, the White House refused to allow Park Police officers to enter Foster's office to search the day after his death. Second, Committee testimony will further show that later that day, July 21, 1993, it was agreed between law enforcement authorities and the White House Counsel's Office that the Department of Justice would supervise the search of Mr. Foster's office and that it would be the Department of Justice that would review documents for relevance and privilege there. The next day, however, when law enforcement officers arrived to conduct the review of Mr. Foster's office, the White House broke the agreement on how the off-ice would be searched. Instead of the Department of Justice conducting the search according to the agreement that they had previously entered into, the White House told law enforcement officials that it would review the documents, categorize them and let law enforcement officials know what they could and couldn't look at. Third, testimony by the Department of Justice, Park Police and the FBI will show that the search was viewed as a sham, that law enforcement officers were there for decoration only and that many of them did not feel that they could say that they had conducted an investigation based on the way the White House controlled the search and access to documents in Mr. Foster's office. Fourth, Mr. Chairman, the testimony before the Committee, I believe, will make evident the significant disagreements that arose early on between top law enforcement officials and the White House over the White House's role in the investigation. Finally, Mr. Chairman, we will hear about the very serious concerns that were raised from the beginning of the investigation by career law enforcement professionals that believe that the White House was improperly affecting the proper conduct of the investigation. Mr. Chairman, I look forward to hearing from today's witnesses and to participating in these important hearings for the American people. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Shelby. Senator SARBANES. Senator Murray. 33 OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PATTY MURRAY Senator MURRAY. Mr. Chairman, at some point before July 20, 1993, Vincent Foster wrote about this city, "here ruining people is considered sport." Then, by his own hand, he took his life. Vincent Foster, a successful lawyer, a devoted father and husband, a loyal friend, was a victim of the partisan bickering in the city and his own depression. Now, 2 years later, the Banking Committee of the United States Senate will take 3 or possibly 4 weeks to investigate how, in the emotional chaos of discovering their co-worker and friend had died, White House staff handled the contents of his office. Once again, Mr. Chairman, I fear that Vincent Foster and his family will be victimized. I urge all of us to keep perspective. It seems to me, Mr. Chairman, that whenever a high-profile tragedy occurs in this country, a whole lot of far-flung conspiracy theories emerge. I do not subscribe to unfounded allegations and radical beliefs. I prefer to rely on the time-honored virtues of fairness and common sense.