[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 126 (Tuesday, August 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H8136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    INVESTIGATION OF THE DEATH OF WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL, VINCE FOSTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Frank] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I was appalled to read last 
week a statement from Speaker Gingrich suggesting that House Counsel 
Vince Foster was murdered, coupled with Mr. Gingrich's statement that 
he plans to do nothing at all about that. In other words, the Speaker 
apparently plans to suggest to the American people that an official in 
the White House was murdered, despite the fact that several 
investigations involving professional criminologists and others, 
forensic experts, have concluded that he was, tragically, a suicide.
  Mr. Gingrich chooses to call that into question but then do nothing 
about it. Remember that Mr. Gingrich has a good deal of influence over 
the agenda of this House, including the House Committee on Banking and 
Financial Services. The House Committee will be having hearings on the 
Whitewater matters. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs is having hearings on Whitewater. The Republican party 
apparently plans to have hearings about what happened before Mr. 
Foster, sadly, killed himself; they plan to have hearings about what 
happened after Mr. Foster killed himself, and they are having those 
now; but they will not have any hearings into that question. Why? 
Because everyone who has looked at it has concluded, without question, 
that Mr. Foster was a suicide because of the enormous pressures he was 
under.
  Mr. Speaker, Mr. Gingrich chooses to ignore that overwhelming 
evidence and to suggest that he was murdered, but he is very careful to 
make it clear that he will do nothing about it. In other words, he will 
leave that terribly destabilizing, awful suggestion there, with its 
unstated implications of who was responsible. Despite the fact that he 
has control over the investigatory bodies of this House, he will not 
have them look into it because he does not want to know the truth.
  Mr. Speaker, it has, unfortunately, become part of the right wing 
paranoia that circulates in this country to state, in defiance of the 
clear facts and pattern, that Mr. Foster was murdered. Mr. Foster's 
suicide has been investigated by two Republican independent counsel, 
first Mr. Fiske and now Mr. Starr. It has been investigated by police, 
by the FBI, by a whole range of officials. Overwhelmingly, everyone has 
concluded, tragically, that he committed suicide. The Speaker decides 
to ignore that, to reinforce one of the worst, craziest, most paranoid 
rumors now circulating and poisoning the American political atmosphere, 
but is careful to leave it at a suggestion. He is careful to avoid any 
forum in which that outrageous suggestion of his could be proven.
  What this shows, Mr. Speaker, is, unfortunately, the extent to which 
the right wing, in its most extremist form, demands increasing tribute 
from the Republican party leadership. We see it in public policy on the 
floor of this House and we see it in their rhetoric. The Speaker 
apparently feels compelled to give credence to one of the most 
contemptible, vicious, and inaccurate stories now circulating in 
American politics. It is an effort by the right wing to use the tragic 
suicide of a very decent man under great pressure for political 
purposes.
  Mr. Speaker, where is the Speaker of the House?
   Does he exercise leadership? I know Chairman D'Amato, former 
chairman of the Senate committee, has said, yes, it was a suicide. He 
stipulates to that. That is the responsible position. The Speaker is 
not willing to do that. The Speaker will, instead, fan one of the most 
irresponsible flames that threatens now to consume civility in the 
American political discourse.

  Mr. Speaker, I understand the need of the Republican leadership to 
keep happy those on the right wing who have been their most active 
troops, but can there not be a more decent way to do it? Must there be 
an unfortunate, unjustified, terrible effort to play with the facts 
involving this man's life? Does the Speaker really, genuinely believe 
this was a murder? No one, even the Speaker and even the people on the 
right are suggesting it was an act of God. The man was shot by his own 
hand. It is either murder or suicide. If the Speaker really believes it 
is murder, then where does he get the authority not to investigate it?
  Mr. Speaker, anyone who seriously believes a White House Counsel may 
have been murdered for political purposes, who does not use his or her 
authority to look into it, seems to me to be guilty of a dereliction of 
duty. What we are clearly talking about, then, is not a serious effort 
to get to the bottom of what would be a terrible crime. It is the most 
discouraging example of right wing influence in the Republican party 
that I have seen, and I have, unfortunately, seen many.

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