[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 87 (Thursday, June 13, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6196-S6197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE OUTRAGEOUS ABUSE OF POWER BY THE WHITE HOUSE

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, we have learned that an extraordinary 
number of highly confidential FBI files were improperly obtained by the 
White House. I do not know what I find more appalling: the fact that 
the White House requested, received and kept the confidential files of 
more than 300 Reagan and Bush administration workers--that is appalling 
enough--but is that more appalling than the fact that the FBI turned 
them over to the White House these files without an apparent second 
thought?
  This latest White House mishap, or snafu, or outrageous abuse of 
power raises serious questions about the White House, the FBI, the 
Secret Service, and the Department of Justice. I cannot help wondering 
if anyone is in charge.
  I have no doubt that if this kind of misadventure occurred on the 
watch of a Republican President, it would create a tremendous furor. 
The irony is that it was discovered during an investigation into the 
Travel Office affair which also involved the admitted misuse of the FBI 
by the White House. It seems as though this White House views the FBI 
as its own personal private investigator. This is the kind of arrogant 
abuse of power that led to the fall of the Nixon White House. Mr. 
President, this is what Watergate was all about.
  FBI files on individuals should be the most private and confidential 
of all documents. They are not compiled for political purposes, and 
they should never be used for political reasons. They certainly should 
not be easily provided to partisan political appointees.
  What was actually in these files? They were summaries of 
comprehensive FBI files on Reagan and Bush Administration employees 
whose last names began with the letters A though G. They include James 
A. Baker, former White House Chief of Staff and Secretary of State in 
the Bush administration. They include another former chief of staff of 
the White House, Ken Duberstein; and the fired Travel Office Director 
Bill Dale.
  These files contained summaries of interviews with neighbors, 
friends, coworker going way back to the high school years of those upon 
whom the files were complied. Some of those interviewed might be 
individuals with

[[Page S6197]]

an ax to grind. They can contain any bizarre allegation that such an 
individual may concoct. This is the type of information that the 
Clinton White House thought should be trusted to a low-level civilian 
detailed from the Army who answered to a partisan, political appointee.
  This all come up because of the inability of the White House to admit 
that it fired Billy Dale to make room for the President's Arkansas 
cousin and his Hollywood friends. For months, the White House has 
refused to comply with the Clinger committee's subpoena of all 
documents related to the Travel Office firings. When Billy Dale cried 
foul upon learning that his FBI file had been turned over to the White 
House, the White House claimed it received his file as part of a 
routine investigation of employees. That was the original explanation. 
Suddenly the Billy Dale file shows up in the White House. How did it 
get there? As part of a routine investigation of an employee? Then the 
story changed. The White House tried to claim that it was not its 
request after all. The GAO had asked for the FBI files. ``No, no, no,'' 
said the GAO, ``not us!'' Suddenly the whole thing became an innocent 
mistake that involves trampling on the fundamental right to privacy of 
330 loyal public servants.
  I applaud Representative Clinger, chairman of the House Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight, for his commitment to untangling this 
web of misinformation, claims of executive privilege, and 
rationalizations. I believe that his matter is serious enough to 
warrant a full congressional investigation. Unfortunately, this White 
House has dodged the truth for too long.
  I remember when an overzealous Bush supporter, Elizabeth Tamposi, who 
was an Assistant Secretary of State, decide to search the passport 
records of a young Governor from Arkansas, Bill Clinton. The press was 
outraged. Bill Clinton was outraged, but, most of all, President Bush 
was outraged. He fired Elizabeth Tamposi.
  What have we heard from this administration about this latest 
scandal? Mark Fabiani, a White House attorney hired to answer questions 
about Whitewaster and the Travel Office matter, believing that the best 
defense is a good offense, said, ``Instead of attacking, Clinger and 
Speaker Gingrich should be apologizing.'' Now that is chutzpa if I ever 
heard it.
  This is a serious matter Mr. President. We cannot have the FBI used 
as a private research agency for the White House. I think this matter 
needs immediate attention.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and again want to thank the Senator 
from Iowa for permitting me to go before him.

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