[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MEASURE READ FOR THE FIRST TIME--S. 1561

  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I understand that S. 1561, introduced 
today by Senator Hatch, is at the desk. I ask for its first reading.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will read the bill for the first 
time.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1561) for the relief of the individuals whose 
     employment at the White House Travel Office was terminated.

  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, I now ask for its second reading and 
object to my own request on behalf of Senators on the other side of the 
aisle.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard. The bill will be read on 
the next legislative day.
  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, today I introduced a bill to address a 
grave miscarriage of justice--the wrongful investigation prosecution of 
Mr. Billy Dale and the other former White House Travel Office 
employees. Mr. Dale served his country at the pleasure of eight 
Presidents as the Director of the White House Travel Office. During his 
32 years of service, Mr. Dale took on the thankless and often grueling 
task of ensuring that the national and international media were in a 
position to cover the movements of the President and thus report to the 
American and worldwide public.
  As thanks for his numerous years of dedicated service, Mr. Dale was 
summarily discharged from his post on May 19, 1993, and was thereafter 
indicted and prosecuted for embezzlement. On December 1, 1995, after 
2\1/2\ years of being investigated and haunted on a daily basis, Mr. 
Dale was tried before a jury of his peers and, in less than 2 hours, 
found not guilty of all charges.
  The travesty in this situation is that Mr. Dale simply got caught in 
the political crossfire of a new administration. He had served eight 
Presidents, both Democratic and Republican, but found himself in a job 
that, apparently, was an impediment to the ambitious money-making 
schemes of the new President's friends. President Clinton certainly 
could have dismissed Mr. Dale without cause, but I believe the Clinton 
administration may have felt the need to justify its actions in firing 
Mr. Dale and the other White House Travel Office employees given the 
tremendous media interest in this dismissal. The reputations of Mr. 
Dale and his colleagues were discredited and ruined in the process.
  I have a great deal of respect for the First Lady. But, on April 6, 
1994, in response to questions about the White House Travel Office 
situation, Mrs. Clinton stated that she ``had no role in the decision 
to terminate the employees.'' (Responses of Hillary Rodham Clinton to 
the General Accounting Office, Apr. 6, 1994) Moreover, she ``did not 
direct any action be taken by anyone with regard to the Travel Office, 
other than expressing an interest in receiving information * * *''(Id.)
  Unfortunately, these statements do not coincide with the evidence we 
have come to discover in recent months. In fact, it appears as though 
the First Lady was actively involved in the decision to fire the White 
House Travel Office employees. According to notes taken by David 
Watkins--the former Assistant to the President for Management and 
Administration who oversaw the workings of the Travel Office--during 
his conversation with the First Lady on May 14, 1993, 5 days before the 
Travel Office employees were dismissed, Mrs. Clinton articulated that 
``Harry [Thomason] says his people can run things better, save money, 
etc. And besides we need those people out--we need our people in--we 
need the slots.'' (GAO report, The White House Travel Office, at 53-54)

  Moreover, according to a recently released memorandum written by Mr. 
Watkins, ``[t]he First Family was anxious to have that situation [the 
White House Travel Office] immediately resolved, and the First Lady in 
particular was extremely upset with the delayed action in that case.'' 
(Draft memorandum from David Watkins, re: ``Response to Internal White 
House Travel Office Management Review,'' (undated) at 2.) Mr. Watkins 
also notes ``that there would be hell to pay if, * * * we failed to 
take swift and decisive action in conformity with the First Lady's 
wishes.'' (Id. at 1-2.) This memorandum was not released by the White 
House for more than 2 years despite subpoenas from Congress and 
Whitewater Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.
  In May 1993, the Travel Office employees were fired and told to 
vacate the premises. Needing to justify its actions before the 
employees were terminated, the White House met with and urged the FBI 
to investigate the White House Travel Office using allegations 
concocted by Catherine Cornelius, President Clinton's cousin who 
desperately wanted to replace Mr. Dale in running the White House 
Travel Office. Indeed, the FBI helped craft the White House's press 
release about the firings. Peat Marwick was hired to do an audit of the 
Office, but its own report did not substantiate the allegations 
asserted by the White House. Modest financial irregularities are not 
the same as embezzlement.
  This story would be tragic enough if it ended here, but it does not. 
The Department of Justice indicted Mr. Dale, seemingly without concern 
for their lack of evidence. This is best demonstrated by the fact that 
the citizens sitting on the jury, who heard the evidence, exonerated 
Mr. Dale in less than 2 hours. This inappropriate use of the Federal 
criminal justice system created a situation for Mr. Dale where he had 
to expend $500,000 and even considered taking a plea when he had 
committed no crime.
  After the jury summarily dismissed the allegations, someone leaked 
the existence of the plea negotiations to the public in an attempt to 
further discredit Mr. Dale's reputation. Not only are plea negotiations 
a necessary part of our judicial system, they are intended to remain 
confidential and are not to be used against a criminal defendant.
  I cannot, in good conscience, sit quietly when I believe an arrogant 
abuse of power has occurred. The power of the White House was wielded 
to make victims of the inculpable. The targeting of dedicated public 
servants apparently because they held positions coveted by political 
profiteers demands an appropriate response. Although their muddied 
personal reputation may never be fully restored, it is only just that 
the Congress do what it can to rectify this wrong. Accordingly, I 
introduce this bill to make Mr. Dale and the other former White House 
Travel Office employees whole, at least financially, by providing for 
their attorneys fees and expenses.

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