July 25, 1995 - Part 5
July 25, 1995 - Part 5
(15:30:29) The CHAIRMAN. Ms. Thomasson, would you stand. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony that you are about 0 give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Ms. THOMASSON. I do. SWORN TESTIMONY OF PATSY L. THOMASSON FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION AND SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT The CHAIRMAN. Ms. Thomasson, I don't know if you have a statement that you'd like to give to the Committee, or any remarks. We'd be happy to take any. Ms. THOMASSON. Thank you, sir. My name is Patsy Thomasson. I was born in Arkansas. I grew up in a small town called Rison. I went to a small college, State supported, in Arkansas. My first job after college was to work for former Congressman Wilbur Mills, who's now deceased. After a 2-year tenure on the Congressman's staff, I left to go to graduate school at the University of Missouri in Columbia. After graduation in 1972, 1 returned to the staff of the Congressman in the district office in Little Rock. In 1977, then-Governor, now-Senator David Pryor appointed me to the Arkansas Highway Commission, Highway and Transportation Commission in the State of Arkansas for a 10-year term. During the Clinton/Gore campaign and just before I joined the White House, I was Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Arkansas. I moved to Washington and joined the Clinton Administration on March 1, 1993. 1 was Director of the Office of Administration and Special Assistant to the President. In May 1993, 1 became a Special Assistant to the President for Management and Administration, and my office was moved into the West Wing of the White House. On July 20, 1993, 1 had dinner with a friend from Arkansas, her children, her sister and her sister's family. We ate at a restaurant at Washington Harbor. As we left the restaurant after dinner, I received a page from the White House operator telling me to page David Watkins with my location, I later learned from the pager records that that page happened at 10:34 p.m. on the night of July 20, 1993. 1 went into the restaurant and called from a pay phone. The White House operator asked me to give her a phone number so that Mr. Watkins could call me. I told her that I was at a pay phone and that I would prefer to hold while she got Mr. Watkins on the phone for me. After a wait of several minutes, the operator connected Mr. Wat kins and me. He told me at that time that Vince Foster had killed himself. I was in shock. I was in disbelief. I could not believe that my friend and colleague had killed himself. I asked Mr. Watkins at the time to repeat that message to me. I immediately asked David how I could help. He asked me to go to Vince's office to See 311 if Vince left a suicide note. He told me to page him after I looked and let him know what I found. When I walked out of the restaurant, my friends were waiting for me. When my friend looked at me, she immediately asked me what happened. I said Vince Foster killed himself. She also knew Vince and his family from Little Rock. We were both in tears. We hugged each other. We consoled. It was a terrible moment, I had never personally known anyone before who had committed suicide. It was just totally unthinkable, inconceivable to me. I told my friends I had to go to the White House to see if he left a note. My friend said you don't need to be by yourself, let me go with you. We then looked for a cab, got a cab, went up through Georgetown, M Street, to Pennsylvania Avenue and to the White House. I told my friend she couldn't go with me because it was too much trouble to clear her through the security process at the White House, They dropped me off at the northwest staff gate at the White House. I got out of the cab. She got out for a minute with me. We consoled each other. I went into the White House, into my office on the lower level of the West Wing, unsecured my office, left my things, my purse in my office and went up to the first floor. I saw a number of people that I knew. I stopped to talk, to console and to be consoled. I saw Bernie Nussbaum. I told him that David Watkins had asked me to look in Vince's office for a suicide note. I asked him to go with me. We went to the White House Counsel's Office on the second floor. As we went into the reception area, the cleaning lady was coming out of Vince's office. Bernie and I went in.