July 19, 1995 - Part 2
July 19, 1995 - Part 2
(12:05:32) Mr. HUBBELL. I can only speak for me as one of the lawyers who was advising the transition. There were already lawsuits being filed against Betsey and the Clintons that could be used as a fishing expedition for personal files of the Clintons. We wanted, to the extent those files contained attorney-client privileged materials, to protect that privilege and keep it in a chain of custody. That was my thinking, Senator. I can't speak for the other lawyers who were involved, Senator FAIRCLOTH. Did you have any discussion at any time with the President or the First Lady or anyone else relating to the transfer of these files? 119 Mr. HUBBELL. I never had a discussion with the President or the First Lady about the files other than that I had taken them into my possession. I told the President that, Senator FAIRCLOTH. Yesterday I believe you testified that David Kendall came to your house to get the so-called Betsey riles. I believe earlier you said that you took the Betsey files to David Kendall. Would you clarify how the Betsey files got to David Kendall? Mr. HUBBELL. Yes, I will. Once David was hired, I met with David. I did bring to him a few of the files that he asked for prior to that meeting. So I did deliver to David, on that day that I had a meeting with David, a few files. That Saturday David came with an employee of Williams & Connolly and removed all of the files from my house with me. Senator FAIRCLOTH. So you delivered some and then he came and Mr. HUBBELL. I delivered a stack that may have been a couple of inches high of files that he had asked about, and then that weekend he came and got the Senator FAIRCLOTH. Got the remainder? Mr. HUBBELL. Yes, Senator FAIRCLOTH. Mr. Hubbell, in your deposition you said that Jim Blair was helping to, and I quote, "wrap up Whitewater," Now, Jim Blair is General Counsel for Tyson Foods and, as you testified yesterday, one of the closest friends of the Clintons. Hillary Clinton has publicly stated that Jim Blair advised her on her commodity trades which resulted in her $100,000 profit. Jim Blair even spent the night of President Clinton's inauguration at the White House. Mr. Hubbell, why was Jim Blair involved in wrapping up the Whitewater deal? Mr. HUBBELL. Jim assisted in the campaign, as did his wife, and one of the issues that he worked on was Whitewater. He had volunteered, I believe, to negotiate the transfer of the Clintons' interest in Whitewater. Senator FAIRCLOTH. Is that what we mean by "wrapping up Whitewater"? Mr. HUBBELL. Yes, I believe the thought was that they would try to transfer it to Mr. McDougal and end the relationship. Senator FAIRCLOTH. I thank you, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Sarbanes. Senator MURRAY. Mr. Chairman, may I just ask a question on scope, just for my clarification? Is the commodities trading issue within the scope of this Committee? The CHAIRMAN. We are not looking into the commodities matter. We are looking into only those matters that are touched upon in the resolution and/or that come in as a related matter. I don't think the Senator was looking to go into that, but certainly there is nothing that precludes one from mentioning areas. To go into it, to examine it, that is not the scope of this Committee, nor do we intend to go into it, That certainly doesn't preclude somebody from identifying by saying so-and-so who was involved in X, Y and Z, because it is a complex picture, so Members will, at times, have the ability to do that. We are not going to look into the commodities matter. 120 Senator Sarbanes. Senator SARBANES. I yield to Senator Simon. I should say the scope is very carefully spelled out in the resolution that was passed by the Senate and does not encompass that particular subject. Senator Simon. OPENING COMMENTS OF SENATOR PAUL SIMON Senator SIMON. Thank you, Senator Sarbanes and Mr. Chairman. The good news, Mr. Hubbell, is you are getting toward the end. There's just a few summarizing questions. First, it's fairly clear that Bernie Nussbaum is developing into a heavy in this whole question period. You have testified that he was like a brother to Vince Foster, that he was a pallbearer at the funeral.