[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 9, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  REPUBLICAN SHELL GAME ON WHITEWATER

  (Mr. RICHARDSON asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include 
extraneous material.)
  Mr. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, it looks to me like my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle are trying to play an elaborate shell game on 
the American people. While they try to focus public attention on issues 
such as Whitewater, they hope the facts--that the Clinton economic 
policy is working and the economy is growing--gets missed.
  The facts are clear for all to see. As a result of the President's 
economic plan last year, a plan that was passed solely by Democrats, 
things are looking up.
  In 1993, nearly 2 million jobs were created--70 percent more private 
sector jobs in 1 year than were created in the previous 4 years.
  Unemployment is down by the largest annual drop in 6 years.
  The deficit, as a percentage of GDP, is the lowest it has been since 
1979, a year before the disastrous 12 years of Reagan-Bush.
  Interest rates are at 25-year lows and, as a result, five million 
American families have been able to refinance their homes.
  Mr. Speaker. There is a wide gap between Republican rhetoric and 
economic reality. The economy is growing and President Clinton deserves 
the credit.
  I include for the Record a letter sent to the chairman of the Banking 
Committees in both the House and Senate from Mr. Robert Fiske, 
independent counsel, as follows:
                                       U.S. Department of Justice,


                            Office of the Independent Counsel,

                                   Little Rock, AR, March 7, 1994.
     Hon. Donald W. Riegle, Jr.,
     Chairman,

     Hon. Alfonse M. D'Amato,
     Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Banking, Housing and 
         Urban Affairs, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senators Riegle and D'Amato: I am writing this letter 
     to express my strong concern about the impact of any hearings 
     that your Committee might hold into the underlying events 
     concerning Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan (``MGS&L''), 
     Whitewater and Capital Management Services (``CMS'') on the 
     investigation that this Office is conducting into these 
     matters.
       As you know, I was appointed to the position of Independent 
     Counsel pursuant to CFR 603.1 on January 31, 1994. Since that 
     date we have obtained an Order from Chief Judge Stephen M. 
     Reasoner in the Eastern District of Arkansas authorizing the 
     empaneling of a grand jury which will be devoted exclusively 
     to the Whitewater/MGS&L/CMS investigation. In the meantime, 
     we have been using the regular grant jury for this District. 
     We have a team of eight experienced attorneys, six of whom 
     were current or former prosecutors when they joined the 
     staff. We are working in Little Rock with a team of more than 
     twenty FBI agents and financial analysts who are working full 
     time on this matter. We are doing everything possible to 
     conduct and conclude as expeditiously as possible a complete, 
     thorough and impartial investigation.
       Inquiry into the underlying events surrounding MGS&L, 
     Whitewater and CMS by a Congressional Committee would pose a 
     severe risk to the integrity of our investigation. 
     Inevitably, any such inquiry would overlap substantially with 
     the grand jury's activities. Among other concerns, the 
     Committee certainly would seek to interview the same 
     witnesses or subjects who are central to the criminal 
     investigation. Such interviews could jeopardize our 
     investigation in several respects, including the dangers of 
     Congressional immunity, the premature disclosures of the 
     contents of documents or of witnesses' testimony to other 
     witnesses on the same subject (creating the risk of tailored 
     testimony) and of premature public disclosure of matters at 
     the core of the criminal investigation. This inherent 
     conflict would be greatly magnified by the fact that the 
     Committee would be covering essentially the same ground as 
     the grant jury.
       While we recognize the Committee's oversight 
     responsibilities pursuant to section 501 of PL 101-73 
     (FIREAA), we have similar concerns with a Congressional 
     investigation into the recently-disclosed meetings between 
     White House and Treasury Department officials--particularly 
     because we believe these hearings will inevitably lead to the 
     disclosure of the contents of RTC referrals and other 
     information relating to the underyling grand jury 
     investigation.
       For these reasons, we request that your Committee not 
     conduct any hearings in the areas covered by the grand jury's 
     ongoing investigation, both in order to avoid compromising 
     that investigation and in order to further the public 
     interest in preserving the fairness, thoroughness, and 
     confidentially of the grand jury process.
       I will be glad to meet with you personally to explain our 
     position further if you feel that would be helpful.
           Respectfully yours,
                                             Robert B. Fiske, Jr.,
     Independent Counsel.

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