August 9, 1995 - Part 2
August 9, 1995 - Part 2
(10:40:20) They agreed to my transfer of the personal files to the Foster family lawyer, who, as you all know, was there during the search. I made the transfer right on the spot, right in front of the law enforcement agents. Later, those officials contacted the Foster family lawyer. They asked to see and read all the Foster personal documents, As you have heard at this hearing, after the documents were first reviewed by the Foster family lawyer consistent with his professional obligations, his ethical obligations, the officials, the law enforcement officials were shown every one of the Foster personal documents. The vast majority of the files I reviewed during the office search on July 22 were Mr. Foster's working files, matters that he was working on in his role as Deputy White House Counsel. When the .a gents left, the search was over. I wanted to get on with the work of the office, to reassign Foster's matters to other attorneys. As this Committee has heard, the Justice Department attorneys were aware that Foster's working files would be immediately distributed to other attorneys in the office. I began this process immediately. Now, let me turn to the Clinton personal files. During the office search on July 22, 1 saw a number of files that concerned personal Matters of the Clintons. I identified them to the agents present. I said these were Clinton personal files. I said these involve investments, taxes, other financial matters and the like, Included was a file on the Clintons' Whitewater real estate investment. I knew that Vince had been assisting the First Family in completing financial disclosure statements, filing tax returns, and creating a blind 1210 trust. A President and his family are officially required to perform such acts. As such, it is proper and indeed traditional for the White House Counsel's Office to assist in that official function. Mr. Foster need- ed access to the Clinton personal files for these official purposes. They were, therefore, properly in the White House Counsel's Office. But that did not make them any less personal files. Even though the First Family has to file financial disclosure forms and other similar documents, blind trust and the like, and even though it must use its personal financial files as the basis for that disclosure, it does not follow that every such file becomes a Presidential record. That would be a ludicrous result. Those files had nothing to do with the transaction of Government business, although they were needed to file official forms. They remained personal files. They remained the Clintons' personal files. I knew that the work on the projects for which the personal files were needed had recently been completed. With Vince's death and the work done, the reason for our office possessing these personal files was at an end. Just as I believe the Foster personal files should go to the Foster family lawyers, I believed the Clinton personal files belonged in the hands of the First Family or their personal lawyers. Shortly after the search of Vince's office was completed, I asked Maggie Williams the First Lady's Chief of Staff, to help me transfer these files to the Clintons and to their personal lawyers. I told Maggie that I thought the Clintons would probably want to send the files to Williams & Connolly, a Washington law firm, that had been working with Vince and was representing them per- sonally. I said she should confirm that with the First Family. The Clinton personal files were sent to the White House residence on the evening of July 22. They were sent to the residence because it was late in the day and we were leaving for the funeral in Arkansas early the next morning. While it would have been perfectly proper for them to do so, if they so desired, it was my understanding that neither the President nor the First Lady examined those files while they were in the Foster residence. On Thursday, July 27 after we returned from the funeral, the personal files, the Clinton personal files were delivered to Williams & Connolly. As this Committee has heard, the Justice Department attorneys understood that these Clinton personal files would be going to the President's outside attorneys. It has been suggested that I transferred the Clinton personal files because of some deep concern that I or others had with Whitewater. As I said earlier, that is false. My decision to transfer the Clinton personal files, including the White water file, had absolutely nothing to do with what has come be to called the Whitewater matter.