Senate panel to accuse
White House of
'highly improper conduct'
June 14, 1996
Web posted at: 10 p.m. EDTWASHINGTON (CNN) -- A report from the Senate Whitewater Committee's Republican majority will conclude that the White House engaged in "highly improper conduct" over the way it handled documents relevant to the Whitewater investigation, sources told CNN.
The report is expected to be presented Monday.
"An overall theme will be that the various parts of Whitewater cannot be viewed in isolation, but must be viewed as part of a broader pattern of conduct," said one committee source.
The Republican majority's report will cite as an example the allegedly improper handling of documents in Vincent Foster's office in 1993, just after the deputy White House counsel and close Clinton confidante was found dead.
The Republicans will contend that files were removed from Foster's White House office to cover up Whitewater misdeeds by the Clintons and that the removal must be viewed in the context of other alleged "coverups" -- such as Hillary Clinton's missing Rose Law Firm billing records.
Sources told CNN the report will criticize what Republicans believe was a "misuse" of the White House Counsel's office and cite tactics they claim were used to "impede the investigation" of Foster's death.
It is still an open question whether the first lady will be identified in the report as the main suspect in the disappearance of her long-missing, much-subpoenaed Rose Law Firm billing records and their mysterious discovery by a low-level Clinton personal aide in the White House residence late last year.
Sources told CNN it was undecided if Republicans would refer what they see as "inconsistent testimony" by Clinton aides to law enforcement officials for perjury investigations.
Democrats on the committee will prepare their own minority report on the hearings once they see a draft of the Republican report Friday.
The Republican report is still being written and "will be rewritten several times" between now and Monday, said the source, adding that details developing the "improper conduct" theme will cover more than 500 pages.
CNN Correspondent Bob Franken contributed to this report.
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- AllPolitics: Senate Whitewater Committee Wants More - June 14, 1996
- AllPolitics: Dole finally talks Whitewater on the stump - June 14, 1996
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