[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 122 (Tuesday, September 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10387-S10388]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 276--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE
PRESIDENT SHOULD REIMBURSE THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER FOR COSTS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE INDEPENDENT COUNSEL'S INVESTIGATION OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH
MS. MONICA LEWINSKY
Mr. MURKOWSKI submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Res. 276
Whereas, on January 17, 1998, President Clinton testified
in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by Paula Jones and
denied a sexual relationship with a former White House intern
Monica Lewinsky;
Whereas, President Clinton's personal lawyer, David
Kendall, stated on September 13, 1998 that the President
``absolutely'' sought to mislead Ms. Jones's lawyers in the
January 17 deposition;
Whereas, during a January 26, 1998 White House news
conference, President Clinton stated, ``I did not have sexual
relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky'';
Whereas, President Clinton invoked Executive Privilege in
an effort to limit grand jury questioning of aides Bruce
Lindsey, Sidney Blumenthal, Cheryl Mills, Nancy Hernreich and
Lanny Breuer;
Whereas, none of President Clinton's claims of Executive
Privilege were ever supported by the courts;
Whereas, on May 22, a federal judge denied a previous
motion by the President to prevent Secret Service agents from
being compelled to testify before a grand jury;
Whereas, on July 7, 1998, a federal appeals court denied
the President's appeal and ruled that Secret Service
employees must tell the grand jury what they observed by
guarding the President;
Whereas, on July 29, 1998, President Clinton agreed to
testify from the White House in response to a subpoena issued
by the Independent Counsel's office;
Whereas, on August 17, 1998, President Clinton testified
before a grand jury and made an address to the nation
admitting ``an improper relationship'' with Monica Lewinsky;
Whereas, the President has unnecessarily and improperly
prolonged the investigation of Independent Counsel Kenneth
Starr;
Whereas, the President knowingly provided inaccurate
information in a sworn deposition and in public statements
about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky;
Whereas, the President invoked improper claims of Executive
Privilege, attorney-client privilege and Secret Service
privileges: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That
(1) it is the sense of the Senate that President Clinton
has unnecessarily delayed the investigation of the
Independent Counsel, and
(2) President Clinton should reimburse the American
taxpayer for the costs associated with the Independent
Counsel's investigation of his relationship with Ms.
Lewinsky.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, last Friday, Congress and the American
people were finally able to read the 445-page report on the
investigation of the independent counsel, Judge Kenneth Starr. It is
now, of course, the constitutional duty of the House of Representatives
to review that report and determine whether the articles of
impeachment, censure, or whatever action, are indeed warranted against
the President.
I rise today not to discuss that specific issue of impeachment or
censure, but I rise today to discuss the issue of equity. For the last
7 months, due to the actions of the President--and I might add, the
President alone--substantial costs have accumulated as a result of the
President's intentional strategy. And that strategy is to delay and
thwart the investigations of Judge Kenneth Starr.
Mr. President, I think it is the duty of this body to discuss and
reflect on the cost that has been borne by the American public as a
result of the calculated deception that has gone on for the last 7
months. Certainly, it has been evidenced by the report that it was a
deception, a deception to cover up and delay. It is clear that after
the President testified on January 17 in Paula Jones' sexual harassment
lawsuit that the President began a calculated plan to mislead and
basically deceive the independent counsel and the American public with
his ``legally accurate'' testimony in the Jones case.
Indeed, when the President's attorney, David Kendall, was asked
yesterday if the President was purposely attempting to mislead the
attorneys for Paula Jones during his sworn deposition, he replied
``absolutely.''
Mr. President, it has been 7 months now, 7 months since President
Clinton sought to prevent the independent counsel from determining the
veracity of his statements. Despite the fact that the Clinton
administration issued a statement in 1994 that the administration would
not invoke executive privilege for any personal wrongdoings, the
President withdrew and reasserted claims of executive privilege on five
specific occasions. These claims were warrantless and served as nothing
more than a delay tactic. In fact, not one of the claims of executive
privilege was found by a court of law to be justified.
As a result of the President's plan for public deception--I hate to
use that word, but I can't put it in any other term--and certainly
delay, the investigation of independent counsel Starr was unnecessarily
prolonged for approximately 7 months, despite the fact that the
President, in January of 1998, promised, promised, the Congress and the
American public to cooperate fully with the investigation.
Lastly, the President refused six invitations to voluntarily testify
before the independent counsel's grand jury. It was only when he was
faced with the subpoena and the result of the DNA test and the reality
that the tests would soon be completed that the President finally
appeared before the grand jury.
Where are we? What does all this really mean? It means that for more
than 7 months, President Clinton has pursued a strategy of deceiving
the American people and the Congress and purposely delayed and impeded
the independent counsel's investigation. The cost of the President's
campaign of delay and deception totals nearly $4.4 million.
I ask unanimous consent the letter from the Office of the Independent
Counsel be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Office of the Independent Counsel,
Washington, DC, September 11, 1998.
Mr. David L. Clark,
Director, Audit Oversight and Liaison, U.S. General
Accounting Office, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Clark: This is in response to Senator Frank
Murkowski's letter to you dated September 3, 1998, requesting
certain costs incurred by this Office relating to the Monica
Lewinsky investigation. In your meeting with personnel in our
Office on September 4, 1998, we agreed to provide you with
answers to the Senator's questions as accurately as possible.
As we mentioned in that meeting, our financial accounting
system does not categorize costs by case, or project.
Therefore, we determined the cost by estimating the time
spent on the Lewinsky investigation by all staff members.
Further, the Lewinsky portion of certain general costs was
allocated based on those estimates.
The enclosed spreadsheet displays a Summary of Expenses
relating to the Lewinsky investigation. The expenses are
categorized in the same manner as our Financial Statements
shown in GAO's audit reports. Work on the Lewinsky
investigation continues today and many members of our staff
are still working on this matter. For purposes of this
request, we chose to account for costs recorded through
August 31, 1998. Subsequent costs have not yet been recorded.
To include them here would decrease the accuracy of the costs
we have computed. Should the Senator request costs after
August 31, we will certainly update the enclosed Summary.
In response to question 1 of Senator Murkowski's letter:
for the period January 15 through August 31, 1998, Lewinsky-
related investigation costs for personnel compensation and
benefits (including employees and detailees) are $1,861,456.
Contract Services (including consultants) costs are $884,110.
Most incumbent members of this Office have devoted more than
50% of their time to the Lewinsky matter. Many staff members
over the past eight months, both old and new, have worked
considerable overtime hours,
[[Page S10388]]
most of which were related to the Lewinsky investigation and
many were for uncompensated attorney-hours.
Question 2 of the letter requests the cost of witnesses
associated with the Lewinsky investigation. These costs
amount to $13,841, which is included in the Summary, under
various categories.
Question 3 of the letter, Lewinsky-related travel costs, is
shown in the Summary as $949,895.
Should you or the Senator's office have any questions about
the estimate, please call Paul Rosenzweig or me at 202-514-
8688.
Sincerely,
Jackie M. Bennett, Jr.,
Deputy Independent Counsel.
Attachment
SUMMARY OF EXPENSES RELATING TO MONICA LEWINSKY
[Jan. 15-Aug. 31, 1998]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lewinsky
Category of expense related
expenses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Personnel Compensation and Benefits....................... $1,861,456
Travel Costs.............................................. 949,895
Rent, Communications and Utilities........................ 356,494
Contractual Services...................................... 884,110
Supplies and Services..................................... 82,653
Capital Equipment......................................... 186,021
Administrative Services................................... 73,294
-------------
Total............................................... 4,393,923
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The expenses shown above do not include other costs allocated to
this Office by the General Accounting Office (GAO). Certain
administrative costs incurred by the Administrative Office of the U.S.
Courts (AOUSC) are periodically charged to this Office. The amount of
this charge for the period in question is not available (for the six-
month period ending March 31, 1998, the amount was approximately
$121,700).
Additionally, payroll costs of FBI personnel assigned to this Office are
paid by their agency, and therefore are not included in the above
expenses.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. That letter that has just been made part of the Record
is highlighted here relative to the detailed expense associated with
the Monica Lewinsky incident, expenses from January 15 to August 31,
1998, including categories of expenses relative to personal
compensation, travel costs, contractual services, supplies, capital
equipment, administrative services. The total is $4.3 million, roughly
$4.4 million. That is the cost to the American taxpayer.
The question that I brought up earlier was one of equity. Equity
demands the costs of the delays should be borne by the President and
not the taxpayers of this country.
I ask that my colleagues support me in the resolution that I have
submitted which would require the President to reimburse the American
taxpayers for the expenses that resulted from the delays of the
investigation, the delays that were initiated and caused directly by
the President.
My colleagues should note that this resolution is not unprecedented.
We, in Congress, have required Members under investigation by the
Ethics Committee to reimburse the committee for the costs of the
investigation. The same standard should apply in the case of the
President of the United States.
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