Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Gephardt Wants Rep. Burton Fired > WASHINGTON (AP) -- The firing of a top Republican > investigator into 1996 campaign fund-raising > irregularities is not sufficient, and the chairman of > the House committee conducting the probe should end his > role as well, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt said > today. > > Gephardt, D-Mo., said Democrats would try to force the > House to vote next week on a resolution ordering Rep. > Dan Burton, R-Ind., chairman of the House Government > Reform and Oversight Committee, to step aside as the > chief of the investigation. Democrats would likely lose > such a vote in the Republican-controlled House, but it > would call continued attention to the controversy over > the tapes and transcripts Burton has released of > jailhouse conversations involving Webster Hubbell, a > friend of President Clinton. > > In a letter to House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., > Gephardt also renewed his call for the speaker to > remove himself from the deliberations, citing recent > reported statements that Gephardt said show Gingrich is > biased. He made a similar demand last week. > > ``In both Mr. Gingrich's case and in Mr. Burton's case, > I believe they have disqualified themselves from being > able to carry out a fair, objective, impartial > investigation of the facts that they're supposed to be > investigating,'' Gephardt told reporters. > > Gephardt cited a report in today editions of The > Washington Post in which Gingrich reportedly told > Republicans that when discussing the fund-raising > probe, ``forget the word 'scandals' and start using the > word 'crimes.''' > > ``Your statements, which prematurely reach conclusions > in this matter, diminish your constitutional role as > speaker,'' Gephardt wrote to Gingrich. > > In the wake of the tape furor, Burton attempted to win > back the confidence of fellow Republicans by > apologizing to them in a letter Wednesday. > > ``I want to apologize to you if this matter has caused > you any embarrassment,'' Burton wrote. He admitted ``a > mistake was made'' in omitting from the Hubbell > transcripts material that was favorable to the former > associate attorney general and to his former law > partner, Hillary Rodham Clinton. > > Burton risks losing jurisdiction over a portion of the > inquiry because Democrats have blocked an effort to > give immunity from prosecution to four witnesses whose > testimony the chairman has sought. > > The fallout over the tapes quickly claimed one victim, > the House committee's chief investigator, David Bossie, > who supervised the transcript release. He was fired > Wednesday on orders of Speaker Newt Gingrich, but > allowed to write a letter of resignation. > > Unrepentant, Bossie blamed the uproar on Democrats > subjecting Burton ``to never-ending and unjustified > attacks'' and stonewalling by the White House. > > ``I want to emphasize that no one on the staff ever > intentionally left anything out'' of the transcripts, > Bossie said. > > GOP sources said Burton fought to retain Bossie, but > Gingrich demanded to know Tuesday night why he hadn't > been fired. Burton then told the speaker that Bossie > would resign. > > The House Republican sources, speaking on condition of > anonymity, said Burton had sided with Bossie, a > longtime Clinton antagonist, in a furious internal > committee dispute last week over whether to release > Hubbell's conversations. Bossie was in favor of the > release. Committee chief counsel Richard D. Bennett was > not, arguing that nothing in the recordings would aide > the investigation. > > After releasing the selective transcripts last Thursday > of Hubbell's 1996 prison conversations with his wife, > Suzy, Burton the next day began making the actual > recordings public. Release of the tapes made it > possible to compare Burton's transcripts with the > conversations -- and in several key instances, they > didn't match. > > Omitted from the transcripts were Hubbell's comments > that there was no wrongdoing by Mrs. Clinton in a > Whitewater land deal and that he did not take jobs from > presidential friends in order to buy his silence to > protect the Clintons. > > Hubbell, who knew his jailhouse calls to his lawyer, > wife and friends would be recorded under federal > corrections policy, was incarcerated for bilking more > than $400,000 from his former law firm and clients. He > was indicted last week for tax evasion. > > Several GOP sources said the issue of the Hubbell tapes > had come up at a closed-door meeting of the GOP rank > and file Wednesday. > > One source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, quoted > Gingrich as saying everyone was embarrassed over the > handling of the tapes and he was certain Burton was > embarrassed as well. > > At that point, Burton spoke up, saying he wasn't > embarrassed. > > ``Well, you should be embarrassed,'' Gingrich retorted, > the source said. -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
