Hillary Commits Perjury Too!

Press Release; Wednesday, October 18, 2000

Independent Counsel Robert W. Ray issued the following statement:

Today, acting on the September 29, 2000 application of the Independent Counsel, the Special Division of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously ordered the public release of the Final Report of the Independent Counsel (In re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association) In re: William David Watkins and In re: Hillary Rodham Clinton, a matter commonly known as the Travel Office matter.

The public release of the Final Report is the culmination of this Office's orderly procedure initiated by our June 22, 2000 announcement of the conclusion of the investigation and simultaneous filing of the Final Report under seal with the Court. The June 22 announcement set forth this Office's prosecutorial determination that the evidence was insufficient to prove that David Watkins, former Assistant to the President for Management and Administration, and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton made false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, committed perjury in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1621, or obstructed justice in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1503, in connection with their statements and testimony concerning the firing of seven White House Travel Office employees. The evidence and analysis contained in the now unsealed Final Report formed the basis for the determination in June of this year that the investigation should be closed without bringing criminal charges.

With respect to Mr. Watkins, the Final Report now explains in detail that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that his statements regarding whether Mrs. Clinton ordered him to fire the Travel Office employees or pressured him to do so were knowingly false. The Final Report exhaustively describes Mr. Watkins's statements to the FBI, the GAO, the Congress, this Office, and a federal grand jury. Those statements included disclosures, beginning with his first interview with the FBI, of the statements of others to him and of his feeling the pressure of others, including the First Lady, to fire the Travel Office employees. Accordingly, as the Report concludes, any allegation that he failed to disclose those statements or acknowledge feeling such pressure, or sought to obstruct any efforts to uncover evidence of those statements or that he felt such pressure, could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

With respect to Mrs. Clinton, the Final Report concludes that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that her statements concerning her involvement in the decision to fire the Travel Office employees were knowingly false. The Report comprehensively describes Mrs. Clinton's statements and testimony to the GAO, the Congress, and this Office. Mrs. Clinton's statements and testimony included denials that she ordered or directed the firings or believed that she had any "role" or "input" in the decision to fire the Travel Office employees.

The evidence described in the Final Report regarding Mrs. Clinton's statements about ordering or directing the firings includes Mr. Watkins's testimony that (1) Harry Thomason, a long-time friend and advisor to Mrs. Clinton, told Mr. Watkins that Mrs. Clinton was "ready to fire" the employees and (2) Mrs. Clinton had said directly to him (Watkins) that "we need our people in" the Travel Office. Mr. Thomason testified that Mrs. Clinton did not make any such statements to him, or that he, in turn, made any such statement on Mrs. Clinton's behalf to Mr. Watkins. For his part, Mr. Watkins testified that he did not understand Mrs. Clinton's statement directly to him as an order to fire the Travel Office employees. Accordingly, the Final Report concludes that the evidence was insufficient to prove that Mrs. Clinton ordered or directed the firing of the Travel Office employees, or, therefore, that any of her statements regarding this issue were knowingly false.

The Final Report also details evidence regarding Mrs. Clinton's role or input in the decision. Mrs. Clinton acknowledged in her sworn statements to the Congress that she had "expressed [her] concern . . . that if there were fiscal mismanagement in the Travel Office or in any part of the White House, it should be addressed promptly" and felt that "if necessary and justified, appropriate personnel actions" should be taken. She gave this testimony to the Congress in March 1996, more than eight months after she flatly denied any role or input in the decision in sworn testimony in July 1995 and two months after the discovery and disclosure of a November 15, 1993 memorandum written by Mr. Watkins regarding the decision to fire the Travel Office employees, including Mrs. Clinton's involvement in that decision.

The Final Report sets forth the evidence that she discussed these concerns with White House Chief of Staff Mack McLarty, Deputy Counsel to the President Vincent W. Foster Jr., Harry Thomason, and, during one direct telephone conversation, Mr. Watkins. These persons then discussed Mrs. Clinton's concerns among themselves, resulting in Mr. Watkins's decision to fire the employees.

The Final Report concludes that, although there was substantial evidence to prove Mrs. Clinton had a role and input in the matter, that evidence was not sufficient to prove that she was aware of or knowingly intended to have any such role or input in the decision to fire the Travel Office employees. The evidence was insufficient to show that Mrs. Clinton asked or directed Messrs. McLarty, Thomason, or Foster to communicate her concerns to Watkins or that those concerns should be taken into account by him in making his decision, or that she herself directed Watkins to consider her views. The evidence was also insufficient to show that Messrs. McLarty, Watkins, Thomason, or Foster ever advised Mrs. Clinton of the impact she had on the decision to fire the Travel Office employees. Accordingly, her statements and testimony on those issues could not be proven to be knowingly false.

The comments contained in an appendix to the report confirm the overwhelming factual accuracy and completeness of the Final Report. Despite the strained effort by counsel for Mrs. Clinton to find fault with the report, comments submitted by him essentially reaffirm this Office's principal conclusion: The fact that Mrs. Clinton had a role and input in the decision to fire the Travel Office employees simply did not also establish that she made any knowingly false statements under oath regarding that role. The Final Report speaks for itself.

The release of this Report reflects a significant step toward fulfilling the commitment made to the public one year ago today, upon my appointment as Independent Counsel, to complete the investigation in a prompt, responsible, and cost effective manner. The Final Report in In re: William David Watkins and In re: Hillary Rodham Clinton is available today at the main U.S. Government Bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C. and online from GPO Access http://icreport.access.gpo.gov/, which also can be reached as a link from this Office's web site www.oicray.com.

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