Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Burton Releases More Hubbell Tapes > WASHINGTON (AP) -- Entering the controversy over a > House chairman's decision to edit transcripts of > Webster Hubbell's prison conversations, Speaker Newt > Gingrich today accused Democrats of a trying to > distract the public from the serious issues raised on > the tapes. > > But Gingrich stopped short of giving an endorsement to > Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., the embattled chairman of the > House Government Reform and Oversight committee. > > ``I would say Dan Burton has entered a very tough arena > where those who are covering up the crimes and those > who participated in the crimes are doing all they can > to smear anybody who seeks the truth,'' Gingrich said. > > White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the release of > the tapes by Burton was an invasion of privacy. > ``Chairman Burton decided he was above that law,'' > McCurry said. > > The speaker charged that the furor over the tapes' > release was orchestrated by Democrats in an effort to > distract the public from comments on the tapes > suggesting the former associate attorney general and > his wife were under pressure by the White House to > protect Hillary Rodham Clinton. > > ``The Democrats, partly I think coordinated by the > White House, decided to come back and instead of being > concerned about the top political appointee at Justice > being squeezed ... have desperately tried to make Dan > Burton the issue,'' Gingrich said. > > On Monday, Burton released the full tape recordings for > dozens of Hubbell's recorded prison telephone > conversations after Democrats charged that earlier > transcripts he had made public were edited to remove > exculpatory evidence. > > The full tapes include conversations in which Hubbell > declared that no one had bought his silence in the > Whitewater investigation and described how he came to > work for a controversial Indonesian family that > supported the president. > > But even while Hubbell denied receiving jobs from > President Clinton's friends to keep him quiet, the > former associate attorney general insisted he wouldn't > betray to Whitewater investigators those who helped > him. > > ``You know me, I have a hard time saying anything bad > about the devil,'' Hubbell said in a taped conversation > he had with his sister. > > Hubbell, who knew his conversations and those of all > other prisoners were recorded, told his wife, Suzy, > ``We know that's not true,'' when they were discussing > allegations that he was bought off with no-work > employment. > > The money came from ``people who befriended me. I > provided services to them,'' he said. > > Furious Democrats produced a 10-page list of > ``alterations and omissions'' from the original > excerpts. They alleged that some of the verbatim quotes > in the committee's original transcripts ``do not appear > anywhere in the tapes'' and that passages ``were > deleted that appear to be exculpatory of Mr. Hubbell.'' > > Burton refused to step down as chairman as some > Democrats demanded, and said concerns about protecting > some of Hubbell's privacy, not partisan efforts to > embarrass him, were behind the selective release of the > tapes. > > ``When you've got 150 hours of tapes and you've got to > condense it down to an hour, obviously you're going to > do some things that some people are going to be > concerned about,'' Burton said. > > In one tape, Hubbell is heard describing to his lawyer > what he has refused to explain publicly: how he came to > receive $100,000 from the Lippo empire owned by the > Riady family of Indonesia, major Clinton supporters. > > In that tape, Hubbell suggested that John Huang helped > set up and attend early meetings that led to that > retainer. At the time, Hubbell said, Huang, who now is > at the center of Justice Department and congressional > investigations into campaign fund-raising abuses, still > worked for Lippo and had not started his job in the > Clinton administration at the Commerce Department. > > He also disclosed that James Riady, son of the Lippo > patriarch, wanted him to go to Indonesia. > > ``And as James was encouraging me to come to Indonesia > until John was working for Lippo. He was the contact > person in trying to set that up and arrange it,'' > Hubbell explained. > > Last Thursday, Burton's staff released a transcript of > Hubbell discussing allegations in the press in 1996 > that some of the consulting fees he received amounted > to hush money to discourage his cooperation with the > Whitewater investigation into Clinton and his wife, > Hillary. > > The same day, Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr > charged Hubbell, his wife and two friends with > conspiring to avoid taxes on hundreds of thousands of > dollars paid to Hubbell from Clinton's supporters. > > Prosecutors' suspicion about those fees, along with > their frustration over Hubbell's memory lapses after he > agreed to cooperate, reportedly led to the new > investigation. > > Hubbell's phone conversations were recorded from late > 1995 through early 1997, when the onetime golfing buddy > of Clinton and former law partner of Mrs. Clinton was > in a Cumberland, Md., federal prison for defrauding his > law firm and clients. House investigators and > Whitewater prosecutors obtained the tapes as part of > their investigations. > > On Monday, the full tape recording showed the following > selection had been deleted right from the middle of the > Burton transcript: ``I'll give you a hypothetical, is > that most of the articles are presupposing that I -- my > silence -- is being bought. We know that's not true.'' > > Last week, the transcripts showed Hubbell and his wife > talked of White House pressure to avoid legal actions > that would raise ``allegations that might open it up to > Hillary.'' > > But California Rep. Henry Waxman, the senior Democrat > on Burton's committee, said the same tape later went on > to quote Hubbell as saying he was unaware of any > wrongdoing by Mrs. Clinton. > > ``That's the gospel truth. She just had no idea was > going on,'' Hubbell told his wife. -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. 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