July 19, 1995 - Part 3
July 19, 1995 - Part 3
(12:40:27) Senator SARBANES. Of course, a lot of people at the time who were lawyers were not looking at this thing as lawyers; isn't that correct? They were really looking at it as humans, as individuals in a very tragic situation. Mr. HUBBELL. I don't believe any of us were totally operating at 100 percent at that time, certainly. I'd be surprised if anybody was operating at 50 percent. We were in shock and riddled with guilt. Senator SARBANES. I'll yield to counsel, Mr. Chairman. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Thank you, Senator. Mr. Hubbell, did you know that at the time-on the night of July 20, 1993, the night of Mr. Foster's suicide, that by the time the people came into Vince Foster's office to look for a note, that the trash had already been collected by the cleaning personnel? Mr. HUBBELL. No, I did not. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Did you know, sir, that it was staffers or sell ior staffers at the White House that night who thought to contact 129 the GSA cleaning people in order to try to retrieve the trash and that they we're successful in doing so? Mr. HUBBELL. I was not aware of that. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Now, with respect to matters of civil litigation, of which you are substantially familiar, when there is a privilege claim in a civil litigation and where documents have been requested by civil process, under those circumstances, is it fair to say that weeks go by where lawyers review the documents in an office and then make a list of the documents which are called for but which also have attached to them a claim of privilege? Mr. HUBBELL. Yes. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. That's called a privilege log. Mr. HUBBELL. That's the normal case in a big document case, yes. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. Now, in circumstances here presented, where the investigators were looking for a note, a suicide note or some other evidence that would be relevant to the state of mind of Mr. Foster prior to his death, did you in any sense feel that the procedures similar to civil litigation, where weeks would be taken by a painstaking review of the documents, setting out a privileged log, would be appropriate when the request was can you help us find a suicide note or a related type of document? Mr. HUBBELL. If that was the request, I don't think it could be done. I don't think the White House Counsel's Office at that time was equipped to do something like that. Senator DODD. Can I ask you, if the counsel wouldn't mind, how long would it have taken, putting aside the issue of whether or not you could have done it, because I think this goes to the timing issue as the Park Police are trying to get in? The suggestion by Senator Bond was that, had he done that, that would have been a wiser way to go. Yet, it at least appears to me-not having any exact idea of the documentation in that office, but presumably it was fairly voluminous-if a log were required to put that all together plus a review of whether or not there were certain documents that would be subject to privilege, it seems to me you are looking at more than a day or two before the Park Police would have been able to go in and do their job. Then I can imagine what this hearing would have been about. Am I right or wrong on that? Mr. HUBBELL. I believe-I don't know what files were there, but if you assume any type of volume, it would have been a difficult and time-consuming procedure of days, just assuming that Bernie had the staff to do it. The White House Counsel's Office was not a civil litigation firm anymore. I mean, it was a White House Counsel, mainly lawyers, very few staff members, and it would have taken quite a long time. Mr. BEN-VENISTE. May I finish with one final question? As far as you knew, one of the things that most concerned and, indeed, upset the Park Police investigators was the timing issue, that they had not been able to review the materials as quickly and promptly as they had wished to. Is that fair to say? Mr. HUBBELL. I really don't know the answer to what the Park Police were upset about. 130 Mr. BEN-VENISTE. If they were concerned about the promptness with which they would be able to examine relevant material, then interposing this kind of a procedure would have been further upsetting, I trust?