[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 12, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1815-S1816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        EXTENSION OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE WHITEWATER

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I wanted to say how disappointed I am that 
the Senate failed in a vote a few minutes ago to end the filibuster of 
our resolution to continue the Whitewater hearings.
  The question before the Senate today should have been whether or not 
we would authorize additional funding for the continued investigation 
into Whitewater. Unfortunately, the current filibuster that is underway 
prevents us from even considering this question or voting on either the 
resolution or the Democratic alternative.
  I recognize that some of our colleagues who have not closely followed 
the course of this investigation could reasonably believe that enough 
time and money has been spent on the matter, and under ordinary 
circumstances, they might be right.
  Should we not have the opportunity to openly and honestly debate--and 
vote--on this issue? We may have disagreements over the need to 
continue the Whitewater investigations, but shouldn't those 
disagreements be argued and resolved in the light of full public 
scrutiny? I believe they should.
  Unfortunately, that is not the situation we face today. But that 
should not come as any surprise; after all this filibuster simply 
follows the course of action directed by the White House.
  Whatever its motivation, the White House has refused to fully 
cooperate with this investigation. For months, they have delayed the 
production of documents, presented witnesses who exhibit suspiciously 
selective memories, and raised dubious questions of privilege in order 
to withhold potentially damaging evidence. All for the purposes of 
downplaying the significance of Whitewater and running out the clock on 
this investigation.
  Let us review the facts. Nine people have been convicted for crimes 
relating to Whitewater, and seven more--including Arkansas Governor Jim 
Guy Tucker and the Clintons' business partners, Jim and Susan McDougal 
whose trial has begun in Little Rock--are currently under indictment.
  The President and the First Lady have both been compelled to testify 
separately before grand juries on the subject of Whitewater.
  Yet, the White House still refuses to make full, prompt disclosures 
in response to our requests. And in those refusals rest the real 
Whitewater scandal.
  Just as important as the actual and alleged crimes committed in 
Arkansas during the 1980's is the potentially criminal coverup going on 
in the White House today.
  Our chief frustration centers around the stark difference between the 
claims the First Family makes in front of the cameras and the actions 
taken by the White House behind closed doors.
  The President and the First Lady have repeatedly pledged full 
cooperation with this investigation, but as a Washington Post editorial 
puts it, ``they have a weird way of showing'' that cooperation.
  It has been clear from day one that a concerted and coordinated 
effort has been made on the part of the White House, associates of the 
President, and Clinton appointees to thwart the work of the special 
committee.
  You can think of Whitewater as a jigsaw puzzle with a timeclock--a 
puzzle that did not come in a box or with a picture to work from. You 
begin assembling the scattered pieces, but when you think you are done, 
something does not seem quite right.
  Maybe it is the holes at the edges of the puzzle or the extra pieces 
you are holding that don't seem to fit anywhere. With time ticking 
away, you look around to see if anything is missing, when you find them 
in someone else's hands.
  And as all the pieces begin to fit together, you still have no idea 
what you'll end up with, but you realize that the puzzle is bigger than 
you had ever imagined.
  It sounds incredible but look at the obstacles we have had to face.
  Withheld records. Last summer, the committee requested the phone 
records of Margaret Williams and Susan Thomases for the time period 
immediately following the death of Vince Foster. By December, we had 
received them, but only after making four separate requests and issuing 
a subpoena.
  The records detail a phone tree between Williams, Thomases, and the 
First Lady on the night of Foster's death, leading to the removal of 
documents from Foster's office. But it took months to get them.

[[Page S1816]]

  Last minute surprises. On November 3, Deputy White House Counsel 
Bruce Lindsey was deposed by the special committee. Not until the eve 
of his deposition did Lindsey supply the committee with Whitewater 
documents, and then, 12 days later, discovered another 80 pages of 
information.
  with this new information, the special committee decided to depose 
Mr. Lindsey again, when, surprise, he once again provided additional 
documents on the eve of a deposition.
  And just a few weeks ago, when we least expected it, boom--more 
documents from Bruce Lindsey.
  Missing and redacted notes. On February 7 of this year, the White 
House released a redacted version of notes taken by then-White House 
Communications Director Mark Gearan from Whitewater response team 
meetings led in 1994 by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes.
  But only on the day of Gearans' deposition was the unredacted version 
released--3 days before Gearan was scheduled to testify. When 
questioned, Gearan gave little explanation for why these, shall we say, 
colorful notes were not turned over in response to a committee subpoena 
for Whitewhater documents issued over 3 months ago.
  Overlooked documents. Upon receiving confirmation from the Gearan 
notes about Ickes' role in Whitewater, the committee requested any 
additional notes that might have been taken by Ickes.
  Sure enough, less than 48 hours before Ickes was scheduled to 
testify, over 100 pages of notes and documents appeared on our 
doorstep, accompanied by the dubious explanation that the documents 
were mistakenly overlooked.
  To top if off, how can one forget the long delayed discovery of Mrs. 
Clinton's billing records in the White House book room. Coincidences? 
Hardley.
  The White House knows exactly what it is doing, Make no mistake about 
it.
  Publicly, they claim to be the most forthcoming administration in 
history. And they point to the tens of thousands of pages of documents 
they have turned over as evidence.
  Only after you leaf through the piles, and see first hand the 
fragments, the redactions, and the irrelevant information the White 
House has provided do the pieces of the puzzle begin to fit together in 
the image of a stone wall.
  I've often compared it to looking for a needle in a haystack--the 
trouble is, when we ask for the needle, the White House gives us the 
haystack. And now, they want to say ``Times up. We win.''
  Mr. President, when we started this investigation, our purpose was to 
examine the reasons for the taxpayer-financed $60 million failure of 
one Arkansas savings and loan. But what we have uncovered, in 
Washington and in Arkansas, is enough to make any ethical person 
cringe--and still, many questions remain.
  It is these findings and unresolved questions which lead me to wonder 
why our Democratic colleagues have chosen to filibuster this 
investigation, rather than let us gather the facts and complete our 
job.
  There has already been a great deal of speculation in the public's 
eye over issues related to Whitewater and the death of Vince Foster. We 
cannot afford to leave these questions--or to give the American people 
reason to doubt the integrity of our efforts.
  Mr. President, we have a choice. We can either continue our 
investigation and get to the bottom of this whole affair or we can give 
up. We can begin dismantling the White House's stone wall piece by 
piece or we can throw our hands up in the air and allow the Senate to 
become just another part of a potential Whitewater coverup.
  Mr. President, we cannot allow that to happen.
  We have a responsibility to uncover the truth to every taxpayer whose 
hard-earned dollars bailed out Madison Guaranty, to every citizen who 
questions the honesty and integrity of their Government, to every 
American who believes in the saying, long forgotten in Washington, 
about ``the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.''
  If it takes us days, weeks, or months to wipe the Government clean 
from the tarnish of Whitewater, then that is what we must do. The 
Senate cannot continue to wash its hands of this responsibility. The 
investigation must continue. If it takes us days, weeks, or months to 
wipe the Government clean from the tarnished Whitewater, then that is 
what we must do. The Senate cannot continue to wash its hands of this 
responsibility. The investigation must continue.

  Now, I know my colleagues argue many points, but I believe they 
ignore the merits. They argue time and money, but they ignore the 
facts. They say, ``What is the big deal about Whitewater?'' But, again, 
they ignore the fact that nearly two dozen friends and associates of 
the Clintons have become casualties of Whitewater being sent back home 
in disgrace, charged or convicted of crimes related to Whitewater, or 
even worse.
  And, also, they charge that the investigation is political, but they 
ignore the fact that it would be more political to end this 
investigation without getting the answers. It is political, but the 
politics are being played by the White House and our Democratic 
colleagues in not allowing this investigation to continue. If there is 
nothing to fear, why not get the job done and put it behind us?
  Thank you very much, Mr. President. I yield the floor and suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.

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