CONGRESSIONAL RECORD (HOUSE)
August 1, 1995
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) is recognized for 5 minutes
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I was appalled to read last week a statement from Speaker Gingrich suggesting that House Counsel Vince Foster was murdered, coupled with Mr. Gingrich`s statement that he plans to do nothing at all about that. In other words, the Speaker apparently plans to suggest to the American people that an official in the White House was murdered, despite the fact that several investigations involving professional criminologists and others, forensic experts, have concluded that he was, tragically, a suicide.
Mr. Gingrich chooses to call that into question but then do nothing about it. Remember that Mr. Gingrich has a good deal of influence over the agenda of this House, including the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services. The House Committee will be having hearings on the Whitewater matters. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is having hearings on Whitewater. The Republican party apparently plans to have hearings about what happened before Mr. Foster, sadly, killed himself; they plan to have hearings about what happened after Mr. Foster killed himself, and they are having those now; but they will not have any hearings into that question. Why? Because everyone who has looked at it has concluded, without question, that Mr. Foster was a suicide because of the enormous pressures he was under.
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Gingrich chooses to ignore that overwhelming evidence and to suggest that he was murdered, but he is very careful to make it clear that he will do nothing about it. In other words, he will leave that terribly destabilizing, awful suggestion there, with its unstated implications of who was responsible. Despite the fact that he has control over the investigatory bodies of this House, he will not have them look into it because he does not want to know the truth.
Mr. Speaker, it has, unfortunately, become part of the right wing paranoia that circulates in this country to state, in defiance of the clear facts and pattern, that Mr. Foster was murdered. Mr. Foster`s suicide has been investigated by two Republican independent counsel, first Mr. Fiske and now Mr. Starr. It has been investigated by police, by the FBI, by a whole range of officials. Overwhelmingly, everyone has concluded, tragically, that he committed suicide. The Speaker decides to ignore that, to reinforce one of the worst, craziest, most paranoid rumors now circulating and poisoning the American political atmosphere, but is careful to leave it at a suggestion. He is careful to avoid any forum in which that outrageous suggestion of his could be proven.
What this shows, Mr. Speaker, is, unfortunately, the extent to which the right wing, in its most extremist form, demands increasing tribute from the Republican party leadership. We see it in public policy on the floor of this House and we see it in their rhetoric. The Speaker apparently feels compelled to give credence to one of the most contemptible, vicious, and inaccurate stories now circulating in American politics. It is an effort by the right wing to use the tragic suicide of a very decent man under great pressure for political purposes.
Mr. Speaker, where is the Speaker of the House? Does he exercise leadership? I know Chairman D`Amato, former chairman of the Senate committee, has said, yes, it was a suicide. He stipulates to that. That is the responsible position. The Speaker is not willing to do that. The Speaker will, instead, fan one of the most irresponsible flames that threatens now to consume civility in the American political discourse.
Mr. Speaker, I understand the need of the Republican leadership to keep happy those on the right wing who have been their most active troops, but can there not be a more decent way to do it? Must there be an unfortunate, unjustified, terrible effort to play with the facts involving this man`s life? Does the Speaker really, genuinely believe this was a murder? No one, even the Speaker and even the people on the right are suggesting it was an act of God. The man was shot by his own hand. It is either murder or suicide. If the Speaker really believes it is murder, then where does he get the authority not to investigate it?
Mr. Speaker, anyone who seriously believes a White House Counsel may have been murdered for political purposes, who does not use his or her authority to look into it, seems to me to be guilty of a dereliction of duty. What we are clearly talking about, then, is not a serious effort to get to the bottom of what would be a terrible crime. It is the most discouraging example of right wing influence in the Republican party that I have seen, and I have, unfortunately, seen many.
This document is an unofficial version of the Congressional Record. The printed Congressional Record produced by the Government Printing Office is the only official version.