July 19, 1995 - Part 1
July 19, 1995 - Part 1
(10:40:16) Mr. HUBBELL. I have to admit my feelings are still clouded by affection and respect for Bernie. I want to say this: I don't know if anybody but the White House Counsel can make the call on executive privilege or attorney-client privilege. I just don't know in. else could do that, and that's the dilemma that Bernie is put in. On one hand he is close. It is personal. He's going to be criticized. On the other hand-and maybe that's what this Committee should 93 look at-who else could have done it, and I don't know the answer to that. To this day, I don't know if anybody but Bernie Nussbaum could make the call on looking at certain documents as to whether the executive privilege attached or not and who should be allowed to see it and in what fashion. On the other hand- and there were time constraints and personal constraints. I just don't know, and I do think it's a legitimate question. I think that what I was trying to tell Bernie is think about this, but I haven't ever talked to him about it, what went on in his mind as he thought about it. He said really, let's talk about it. I would have liked to have had that conversation because he might be able to say Webb, I don't think anybody else could have done it, especially the next day. I mean, I think one of the things we have to look at is it isn't that Bernie could have brought in somebody from the outside very quickly, and the Park Police were wanting to get in the office. I think those are certainly good questions. I just don't know the answer, and I'm going to be interested at what Mr. Nussbaum says. I'm sure you're going to ask him those questions as well. Senator BRYAN. Thank you, Mr. Hubbell. Let me yield my time to Mr. Ben- Veniste. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Thank you, Senator Bryan. Mr. Hubbell, let me follow up finally on Senator Shelby's question about search warrants and if he were Mr. Heymann back in July 1993. Did Mr. Heymann at any point in any discussion you had with him or any discussion that you know about suggest, even remotely, the possibility that the Justice Department would attempt to seek a search warrant for Mr. Foster's office? Mr. HUBBELL. No, he did not. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. In response to your observations about Southern litigators versus Northern litigators-and not to got into any discussion where I might have a vested interest, Mr. Chairman, allying to yours-I take it what you're saying is despite all the privileges that were involved and the weighty issues of executive privilege, attorney-client privilege and the subsidiary issue of the Foster family privacy associated with all of this, it's your view, then, that if Mr. Nussbaum had adopted a more relaxed approach with the Park Police when they first made the request to search for a note or similar evidence of state of mind in Mr. Foster's office, that if Mr. Nussbaum had just said come on in guys, have a cup of coffee. Let's look around. Here are the files on health care, do You want to go through those? I don't think so. Do you want to look at the vetting file for Attorney General Reno or the list of possible Supreme Court nominees? I don't think you want to look in there, and I can't let you look in there, but let's look around and see if there's a note. Do you think that might have resolved the issue right then and there? Mr. HUBBELL. The Park Police would be the ones who would have to answer that question, but it's my impression from talking to Phil that that would have gone a long way toward accommodating the Park Police. 94 Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Now, there's been some discussion about scaled and locked. I'd just like to follow up on that question, Mr. Chairman, if I may. The CHAIRMAN. Absolutely. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. When you thought about the office being locked, you weren't, I take it, talking about some big yellow evidence sticker or a banner being put across the suite of the White House Counsel's Office? Mr. HUBBELL. No, I was not. I can tell you what was on my mind. I don't know if it's proper procedure or not. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Go ahead, sir. Mr. HUBBELL. That would be that the office would be locked and if you had the manpower, then have somebody log in if somebody went in and have somebody log out if they went out,