Draft Report Notes Conflicts in Whitewater Testimony

A draft of the Senate report on the first Whitewater hearings details numerous conflicts in Clinton Administration officials’ testimony this summer.

It also points out that the Resolution Trust Corp., the savings and loan cleanup agency, did not follow its own written policy in handling a criminal investigation.

The Senate Banking Committee set out to determine whether President Clinton’s aides acted improperly when they gathered information about the S&L; investigation of the Clintons’ Arkansas business dealings, particularly the Whitewater real estate venture.

But the panel’s 300-page draft of the report, dated Dec. 5, does not draw any conclusions about the legality or propriety of the Administration’s conduct.

The Democrats who wrote the draft are working on a section that will make some recommendations about procedures for handling Administration discussions about sensitive investigations. Republican members of the panel are preparing their own views, certain to draw on their many public criticisms.

The report is set to be released Jan. 3, the last day before Congress changes to a Republican majority.

Most of the draft is dedicated to recounting instances in which Administration officials could not recall key events or gave conflicting testimony. Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman and Treasury General Counsel Jean Hanson are most frequently cited. Both resigned after the hearings.

The draft noted that Hanson testified she did not believe she was told to keep confidential information she got about nine criminal referrals from the RTC investigation that named the Clintons as potential witnesses to possible wrongdoing.

RTC official William Roelle “testified that he explained to Ms. Hanson that ‘we need to make sure these are kept confidential,’ ” the draft stated.

The report also cited questions about Altman’s testimony. It noted that neither Altman nor departed White House Counsel Bernard Nussbaum recalled anything about a Whitewater-related fax in Nussbaum’s files indicating it came from Altman.