Governor Clinton's Close Personal Relationship With Dan Lasater
After Governor Clinton was defeated for re-election in 1980, he met with Dan Lasater, George Locke and David Collins, Mr. Lasater's partners27 in Collins, Locke & Lasater,28 later changed to Lasater & Co., a newly formed investment bank.883
According to Mr. Locke: "[I]t was a short time after the election, in fact I want to think maybe the next day . . . . [H]e didn't take a day off."884 Mr. Clinton wanted to see "if Dan would support him in his efforts to regain the governor's seat."885
The meeting lasted a "couple" of hours, and the main topic of conversation was Mr. Clinton's plan to run for governor.886 Mr. Locke believed that Mr. Clinton approached Mr. Lasater because Stephens, Inc., Little Rock's largest financial firm, had supported Mr. Clinton's opponent, Frank White.887 Mr. Lasater claimed that he did not recall the meeting.888
In 1983, Roger Clinton, the Governor's brother, went to work for Mr. Lasater at his horse racing farm in Ocala, Florida.889 Mr. Lasater first met Roger Clinton when Roger was working as a musician in Hot Springs,890 sometime in the late 1970's or early 1980's,891 and that either Governor Clinton or his mother, Virginia Kelly, asked Mr. Lasater to hire Roger.892 In a 1986 FBI interview, however, Mr. Lasater stated that Governor Clinton, as opposed to Mrs. Kelly, asked him to hire Roger.893 Similarly, White House Deputy Director of Personnel Patsy Thomasson, Mr. Lasater's long-time friend and associate,894 testified that sometime in 1982 or 1983 Governor Clinton asked Mr. Lasater to give Roger Clinton a job.895
Mr. Lasater supported Roger Clinton when he had trouble paying a drug-related debt. In late February 1985, Roger Clinton was a witness at a friend's cocaine distribution trial in which he testified that Mr. Lasater, after learning of Roger Clinton's drug debts, loaned him $8,000 to retire them.896 Ms. Thomasson confirmed that Mr. Lasater provided Roger Clinton with a check for an amount "between $5,000 and $10,0000,"897 and Mr. Lasater admitted that he loaned Roger Clinton $8,000 to pay a debt to drug dealers.898 According to Mr. Lasater:
Roger came to me and said that he owed a drug dealer $8,000, and that the drug dealer had threatened him, his mother and his brother [Governor Clinton] if they didn't pay and wanted to know if I would loan him the money, and I did.899
Mr. Drake testified that Mr. Lasater provided him with cocaine while he was an employee of Lasater & Company, and that he believed that Mr. Lasater used cocaine as a tool to manipulate people.900 Mr. Lasater admitted before the Special Committee that he did give drugs to his employees.901
On December 12, 1986, Mr. Lasater entered a guilty plea to the felony of "knowingly and intentionally conspiring to possess and to distribute cocaine."902 He served a 30-month sentence in prison.903
Mr. Lasater claimed "that it has never been alleged that I committed any fraudulent act or lied in the course of any investigation."904 A federal bankruptcy judge, however, found, in open court, that Mr. Lasater lied under oath during the bankruptcy trial of his former business partner, George Locke, and also found that Mr. Lasater was involved in a conspiracy to defraud Mr. Locke's creditors.905 In January 1985, a Little Rock paper reported the judge's findings.906 During the same period of time, Mr. Lasater was attempting to secure the bond underwriting for the Arkansas State Police Radio bond financing.907 When asked about these findings, Mr. Lasater told the Special Committee, "I had forgotten about that."908 Mr. Lasater also admitted that he did not disclose to the state police his involvement in the conspiracy.909
In 1984, Mr. Lasater sponsored a fundraiser for Governor Clinton in 1984.910 This fundraiser, held for over 100 people in Little Rock, raised approximately $50,000.911 Mr. Lasater testified that he and his family contributed a total of $8,000 to Governor Clinton in 1984, and that he also bought a table at a fundraiser for the Governor that cost between $6,000 and $12,000.912 Mr. Lasater believed that in 1982 he only contributed between $4,000 and $5,000 to Mr. Clinton.913 An affidavit that was supplied to the FDIC by Mrs. Clinton's attorney, David Kendall, identified at least $8,000 in contributions that were made by Mr. Lasater and Lasater controlled entities in 1982.914 Mr. Kendall's affidavit also listed $4,000 in contributions that Mr. Lasater and Lasater controlled entities gave to Governor Clinton in 1985.915 In addition, according to Mr. Lasater, Mr. Lasater provided Governor Clinton free use of Lasater owned aircraft.916
Mr. Lasater testified that he saw Governor Clinton only infrequently, and that he was "not a close friend" of Governor Clinton.917 Mr. Lasater claimed that he only visited Governor Clinton at the Mansion on two occasions, and that they "were both social events. They weren't one-on-one meetings."918 There is evidence to the contrary. Arkansas State trooper Barry Spivey has testified that while he was assigned to Governor's security unit from 1982-1984,919 he observed Mr. Lasater visiting Mr. Clinton at the Governor's Mansion, and that920 the Governor went "to Dan's a lot. We went down there more than Dan came down there I would say."921 Mr. Spivey has testified that he normally did not enter Mr. Lasater into the Mansion's security logs "because I knew that he and Bill were friends, that they visited socially. I had flown on his plane. I knew that Bill spent a lot of time at Dan's office, and that Dan spent time at the Mansion."922 According to Trooper Spivey, "I probably saw Dan [at the Mansion] half a dozen times at least. And I'm going to say that I took him by his office even more than that, just me personally."923 Mr. Spivey has testified that he took the Governor to visit Mr. Lasater's offices:
I remember a lot of times taking Bill down to Dan's office and he would jump out and I'd circle and wait until he came back and, or I would go inside and stay in the lobby.924 Mr. Lasater did not recall Governor Clinton visiting the Lasater & Co. offices.925 II.
Governor Clinton Provides Favors to Dan Lasater
A.
Dan Lasater's Special Access to Governor Clinton
Mr. Lasater further claimed that he felt he "never received any special treatment from Governor Clinton or anyone on his staff."926 Governor Clinton's staff, however, paid attention to recommendations to state board appointment by Mr. Lasater.927 For example, the Governor received a list of persons928 recommended by Mr. Lasater and his firm, Lasater & Co., for appointment or re-appointment to the Arkansas Housing Development Agency ("AHDA") Board, the agency to which Lasater & Co. submitted proposals to participate as underwriters in state bond issues.929
Documentary evidence indicates Mr. Lasater met with Governor Clinton. On February 15, 1985, for example, Mr. Lasater wrote to Governor Clinton in part to thank him "for the opportunity to sit down and visit with you."930 Mr. Lasater admitted that the meeting referred to in the letter is "more than likely" a one-on-one meeting in January or February 1985 that he had with the Governor in his office in the State Capitol.931 One of the subjects raised in the letter deals with discussions held between the Governor and Mr. Lasater about the appointment of one of Mr. Lasater's AHDA Board candidates, Donald Spears.932
Mr. Lasater also requested that Lasater & Company be advised "of all financing proposals effecting the state," prior to public announcement and stated that:
we would be more comfortable if you would take the opportunity or ask someone on your staff to take the opportunity to appraise me or my staff of any actions by you or your staff prior to any public announcements so that we will not be surprised or in some instances embarrassed because of the announcement."933
On at least one occasion, Governor Clinton wrote a note to Chief of Staff Betsey Wright, Maurice Smith and "CG," on a piece of Lasater & Company stationary that appears to state, "need to fill their [Lasater & Co.] recs for SEC [Securities Commissioner] / AHDA."934 The Lasater & Co. stationary was attached to a written presentation that was prepared by Lasater & Co. and EF Hutton for a meeting that they had with the Governor on January 10, 1985 at the Legacy Hotel in Little Rock.935 An agenda for the meeting listed appointments for the Arkansas Securities Commissioner and the Arkansas Housing Development Agency as the first two orders of business.936
B.
The Governor's Office Steers Valuable State Bond Business to Dan Lasater
The Special Committee is troubled by documentary and testimonial evidence indicating that Governor Clinton's office directed board members of the AHDA to award bond underwriting contracts to Mr. Lasater's firm, and that the Governor's office monitored and assisted Lasater & Co.'s efforts to secure the underwriting contract for the $29.2 million bond financing of a state police radio system.
Prior to 1983, Collins, Locke & Lasater did not participate as an underwriter for any AHDA bond offerings.937 On February 17, 1983, the AHDA Housing Subcommittee selected Collins, Locke & Lasater to serve as an underwriter for one of the agency's housing bond financing.938 Charles Stout, who was Chairman of the agency's board at the time, described the circumstances surrounding the inclusion of Collins, Locke & Lasater as a member of the AHDA's Single Family Housing underwriting team.
According to Mr. Stout, thirty minutes before an AHDA Board meeting, he received a telephone call from Bob Nash, who was Governor Clinton's assistant for economic issues:29
He was on the governor's staff over there. We had selected underwriters for an issue, and he called over and asked me to cut in Lasater for 15 percent. I said Bob that's not right, the governor's office is not to interfere with this agency. And he said, well, that's the way we want it anyway.939
The Governor's office directive to award Collins, Locke and Lasater fifteen percent of the underwriting contract concerned Mr. Stout for a number of reasons. He stated that "he [Lasater] was a local underwriter and rather inexperienced, that was what I didn't like about it."940 The AHDA had also already selected the group of underwriters that it wanted to cover the offering in question.941 Mr. Stout had difficulty recalling with specificity that the phone call was received on February 17, but he did know that Collins, Locke & Lasater had not participated as an underwriter for any AHDA offerings prior to Mr. Nash's call.942
Linda Chandler, formerly Linda Trent, then acting executive director of AHDA and a Lasater-recommended appointee, testified that the Lasater firm had never been a member of an underwriting team prior to February 17, and that she had never even heard of the firm prior to the firm's inclusion in the single family underwriting.943
Mr. Stout was upset by the instructions from the Governor's office to choose the Lasater firm, and he told his fellow Board member Mort Hardwicke:30 "I thought it was wrong for the governor's office to tell us how to run our business over there."944 Mr. Stout further testified: "[w]ell the governor's office doesn't interfere with the directors of the Arkansas Housing Development Agency and tell them what underwriter to use. That business is the director's business, nobody else's."945
Mr. Nash's directive had surprised Mr. Stout, and he believed that the request threatened the independence of the AHDA.946 Mr. Stout was not aware of any previous instances where the governor's office had ever inserted itself into the underwriting selection process--particularly to tell the board "what underwriter to use."947 The request threatened the independence of the agency in fulfilling its responsibilities.948
Mr. Stout recognized the significance of Mr. Nash's directive, and he asked Mr. Hardwicke to pick up another telephone receiver to listen to the call.949 Mr. Hardwicke claimed in his deposition that he had no knowledge that the Governor's office identified an individual firm that it wanted to receive AHDA business.950 When Mr. Hardwicke was confronted with Mr. Stout's testimony that he had actually listened to the phone conversation that took place between Mr. Stout and Mr. Nash, he said that he did not "recall the incident," but he did not doubt Mr. Stout's testimony.951 After Mr. Stout and Mr. Hardwicke got off the phone with Mr. Nash, they discussed what Mr. Nash had told Mr. Stout to do and decided that they would have to approach each of the board members individually and tell them that Mr. Nash had given the directive to include the Lasater firm in the underwriting.952
After Mr. Nash told Mr. Stout to "cut in" Lasater for 15 percent of the underwriting for the 1983 Series A $26,365,000 Single Family issue that was discussed during the February 17 Housing Sub-Committee meeting, Mr. Stout informed him that the board would comply with the governor's office's request.953 In fact, the minutes of the Subcommittee show that Collins, Locke & Lasater received 13 1/3 percent of the bond underwriting contract.954
Mr. Stout also explained that Mr. Nash's request to include the Lasater firm as an underwriter was not limited to the one issue that was considered on February 17. Mr. Nash's directive required that Collins, Locke & Lasater be included as an underwriter in "any future issues for 15 percent."955 Mr. Stout confirmed that Mr. Lasater's firm was included in subsequent issues in compliance with Mr. Nash's directive.956 Mr. Lasater's company participated as an underwriter in $637 million dollars worth of AHDA/ADFA bond offerings between 1983 and 1986.957
According to the minutes of the AHDA Executive Board minutes for April 12, 1983, the Board unanimously approved the recommendation of the Multi-family Housing Sub-Committee to retain Merrill Lynch as the lead underwriter and to include Stephens Inc. and TJ Raney & Sons as the local underwriters for the agency's Multi Family Housing issue.95831 The AHDA Special Executive Board minutes from April 19, 1983, show that Collins, Locke & Lasater was added to the "underwriting team for the agency's proposed 1983 Multi-Family Issue."959
Linda Chandler, AHDA's Executive Director, agreed that before Collins, Locke and Lasater was added to the Multi-Family Housing issue, that the board had already "carefully considered and discussed" which local firms would participate in the offering.960 The last-minute inclusion of Mr. Lasater's firm into this bond underwriting syndicate was a circumvention of the normal process of careful debate that was part of the AHDA's underwriter selection process.961 In fact, Ms. Chandler agreed that during her four years at the agency, she is not aware of any other "circumstance where, at the last minute, after the recommending committee had made up its lists of participants," another firm was added to the syndicate.962
After Collins, Locke & Lasater's unprecedented inclusion on the underwriting team, Stephens, Inc., one of the firms that had been chosen during the April 12 Executive Board meeting, withdrew from the deal in protest.963 Ms. Chandler said that no financial firms had ever withdrawn from an AHDA underwriting because they were upset that the normal process of selection had been violated.964 Mr. Nash denied that he ever directed Mr. Stout to award business to the Lasater firm.965
In 1984, an Arkansas state trooper was shot and killed during a traffic stop in a section of Arkansas that was not covered by the state's antiquated communications system.966 Although the state police had recognized the need to acquire a new communications system as early as two years before the trooper's death, this event served as a catalyst for the police to plan for the acquisition of a new system.967 On the way to the trooper's funeral with Governor Clinton, Colonel Tommy Goodwin, the Director of the Arkansas State Police ("ASP"), approached the Governor about the need for the state to acquire a new communications system.968 Colonel Goodwin informed the Governor that a new system would cost the state an estimated $17-$18 million dollars and the Governor indicated he would support the acquisition of a new system.969
On April 4, 1985, Governor Clinton signed into law Act 817, "An act authorizing the leasing of communications equipment for the Department of the Arkansas State Police; providing for the payment and security of the costs of the equipment; and for other purposes."970 This legislation established, among other things, the methods of financing that could be used in connection with providing the state with a new police communications system.
Flight logs maintained for Mr. Lasater's aircrafts show that Governor Clinton received a free flight on a Lasater-owned plane shortly after he signed the enabling legislation.971 On May 10, 1985 the Arkansas State Police Commission ("Commission") voted to award the underwriting contract for the financing of the new system to a syndicate of financial firms that included Lasater & Company.972 Lasater & Co.'s share of the fees for this project was $115,040.00.973
The Special Committee has obtained information indicating that the Lasater syndicate obtained an unfair advantage over the other firms competing for this lucrative underwriting contract. The Lasater group worked closely with the law firm that advised the Governor's office on this matter and drafted the actual legislation.974 Moreover, once the legislation was passed, the governor's office monitored the Lasater firm's progress in the bidding process.975 Later, the same law firm that had represented Lasater and drafted the legislation, was retained to write an opinion on the meaning of the law; the opinion would, in large measure, determine which firm won the underwriting contract.976 Not surprisingly, the statement the firm favored the Lasater firm, which was awarded a portion of the lucrative contract.977
Michael Drake, an executive vice president at the Lasater firm testified that Lasater, T.J. Raney, and E.F. Hutton formed a syndicate to compete for the financing contract for the police radio project "right after Bill [Clinton] was elected to his second term [of office]."978 Bob Snider of T.J. Raney testified that he first discussed this offering with Mr. Drake in November 1984, and that Mr. Drake indicated to him that the Lasater firm had already been working on "the state police deal."979 Mr. Snider was under the impression that Mr. Drake had been engaged in discussions with Samuel Bratton, Governor Clinton's Counsel, about the police radio project prior to a meeting that Mr. Snider had with Mr. Bratton in November.980
According to Mr. Drake, Lasater & Co. was approached by T.J. Raney because of Mr. Lasater's relationship with Governor Clinton:
One, they knew that while Bill was [out of] office, that there were two firms in Little Rock that - two investment firms that helped him with a variety of different things. One was Lasater & Company - one was Dan Lasater, and the other was Doobie Sullivan.981 Mr. Snider testified that Mr. Lasater's strong political connections was one of the reasons that his firm decided to include them in the syndicate.982
After Mr. Drake was contacted by T.J. Raney, he told Mr. Lasater that T.J. Raney had approached Lasater & Co. "because of your relationship with Bill, to try to get this legislation passed."983 Mr. Drake said he then identified for Mr. Lasater the steps that he thought were necessary in order to secure the underwriting contract for the police radio financing. The three steps he identified included finding a law firm to draft the legislation, working with the Governor's office, and explaining to the state police "what we are trying to do."984
Betsey Wright, the Governor's Chief of Staff testified that she was under the impression that the Mitchell, Williams firm was working on the legislation for the Governor's office, and that they were not working for the Lasater syndicate.985 Ms. Wright further stated that she was not aware that the Lasater firm had retained Mitchell, Williams to represent them in connection with their efforts to secure the underwriting contract.986
Billing records from Mitchell, Williams, however, indicate that the law firm had numerous meetings and conferences with members of the Governor's staff on behalf of the Lasater group, and that the Governor's office likely knew that Mr. Lasater had engaged the Mitchell firm.987 In fact, in a letter dated January 23, 1985 that Mr. Lasater sent to the Governor, Mr. Lasater informed the Governor that he was working with Bill Woodyard, a Mitchell, Williams attorney, "to help workout financing details."988 Mr. Young testified that Mr. Lasater engaged Mitchell, Williams to "develop the legislation and other things to implement the transaction."98932
During the May 10, 1985 ASP Commission meeting where the Lasater group was chosen to perform the underwriting for the financing of the project,990 "some" of the firms that had given presentations to the Commission, "requested permission to revise their proposals as they felt there had been some misunderstanding of the Act."991 This dispute centered around the fact that the Lasater group's proposal called for annual and semi-annual lease payments, and First Capital's proposal called for monthly lease payments.992 A proposal that incorporated deferred payments, "allowed for more arbitrage to be credited against that present value cost."993
In an apparent effort to quiet the controversy surrounding the different interpretations of the law, the Mitchell -- Mr. Lasater's firm -- was retained by the Arkansas Office of State Purchasing to render a legal opinion as to "whether Section Five of the Act requires Lease Payments, as defined in Section Three of the Act, are required to be made on a monthly basis to investors who purchase an interest in a Lease Agreement authorized by the Act."994 This issue had been raised by the First Capital firm and was the basis for their request for a chance to revise their proposal.995
Mr. Mitchum, the Police Commissioner who was asked to review the different proposals for the Commission, testified that First Capital and the Lasater group were "neck and neck," but that the delayed payments called for in the Lasater proposal made their bid more attractive.996 As a result, the opinion given by Mitchell Williams33 favored the interpretation of the law that their client Lasater & Co. had relied on.
Section Five does not state to whom the monthly transfers out of the Lease Fund are to be made. Therefore there is no requirement that the transfers be made to the ultimate payee or lessor under the Lease Agreement.997 Mr. Mitchum agreed with First Capital's analysis that the Act called for the state to make these payments on a monthly basis.998
On May 1, 1985 nine days before the ASP Commission awarded the bond underwriting contract to the Lasater syndicate, Michael Gaines of the Governor's staff,34 sent a memorandum directly to Governor that contained a head count as to which ASP Commissioner's favored or disfavored giving the police radio underwriting contract to Mr. Lasater.999 Lasater & Co. is the only firm that is referenced in Mr. Gaines' report to the Governor. In addition, the memorandum contains hand written notes from Betsey Wright that are directed to the Governor, which read in part, "[w]e have a real problem here since 'street talk' is that Lasater (sic) put in unreasonably low bid knowing that he can raise it once he gets it."1000 Ms. Wright's note implies that the governor's office had an interest in Mr. Lasater's participation in the project, and that if Mr. Lasater was involved in submitting a low bid it could cause the Governor's office a "real problem." The Governor replied: "Lasater should be told bid must price."1001
Ms. Wright sent Governor Clinton sent another memorandum on the subject of Mr. Lasater's activities related to the state police radio financing on May 13, 1985.1002 The memorandum informed Governor Clinton that the Lasater group faced potential threat from a member the Legislature that was threatening to go to the Telecommunications Study Committee to insist on an alternative form of financing that would eliminate the deal Lasater had made with the ASP Commission.1003 Ms. Wright also informed the Governor that she alerted "Drake," suggesting that the Governor was familiar with Mr. Lasater's executive vice president.1004
On May 15, 1985, Mr. Gaines drafted yet another memorandum on the subject of Lasater's ability to participate as an underwriter on the police radio project.1005 The May 15 memorandum was addressed to Ms. Wright and dealt specifically with the controversy surrounding the First Capital group's protest. Mr. Gaines' memorandum reads in part:
The Capital Resources group [First Capital], which did not get the ASP Commission's nod, intend to contest the award to Hutton, Lasater, Raney on the following points: 1) Capital offers a fixed rate rather than a floating rate, and 2) Capital's proposal was based on monthly payments by the state to repay the debt while H,R,L based their proposal on payments every 6 months. Capital points out that the legislation (written by H,R,L) requires monthly payments.1006
These communications between the Governor and his staff clearly indicate that the Governor's office had a keen interest in not only Mr. Lasater's participation in the police radio underwriting contest, but in helping ensure that Mr. Lasater's firm was able to secure the contract.
During February 1985, two months before the ASP sent out requests for proposals for the state police radio financing, news accounts likely put Governor Clinton and members of the ASP Commission on notice that Mr. Lasater used cocaine, and that he was the possible target of a drug investigation.
On February 27, 1985, The Arkansas Gazette reported that a witness in the drug trial of Hot Springs lawyer, Sam Anderson, Gina Canada, said in her sworn testimony that Dan Lasater had given Roger Clinton $8,000 to pay off drug debts, and that Mr. Lasater "also used cocaine."1007 The next day, another article appeared in The Arkansas Gazette that reported on the sworn testimony given by Mr. Anderson:
"In the summer of 1984, Anderson said Roger Clinton had told him that he had to see him. They arranged to meet in a boat on Lake Hamilton because [Roger] Clinton said he didn't want to be seen in a public place with Anderson. . . Anderson said [Roger] Clinton told him that he had been approached by State Police investigators and that he was very, very frightened, totally frightened to death. He said [Roger] Clinton informed him that the investigators wanted to set up three people:[Roger] Clinton's drug supplier, Anderson and Lasater."1008
Although this trial occurred in Little Rock, Colonel Goodwin claimed that he was not aware of this testimony about Mr. Lasater even though it was printed in one of the state's two largest papers.1009 Colonel Goodwin also asserted that he did not believe that an investigation of Mr. Lasater's drug activity had been initiated by the "summer of 1984."1010
In any event, Colonel Goodwin testified that he had at least one conversation with Governor Clinton, during which Mr. Lasater's drug use was discussed. Mr. Goodwin stated:
I remember at least one of those meetings was after the legislation had passed. Governor Clinton, myself and a lot of other people knew that Dan Lasater was a user of cocaine. The conversation with the Governor, Clinton . . . was we sure don't want any firm involved in financing this that is about to be arrested for selling cocaine. I think he directed that statement to me in particular.1011
Colonel Goodwin believed that he implied to Governor Clinton that Mr. Lasater should not be have been involved in the financing for the police radio system, and that he was concerned about Mr. Lasater's participation in the deal.1012 Mr. Goodwin said that he recognized that it would have been problematic to have a financial adviser with a drug problem doing work for the state.1013
The fact that it was well known or understood that Mr. Lasater was a cocaine user, gave Colonel Goodwin reason enough to disqualify Mr. Lasater from getting this police radio financing contract, and he believes that he made the Governor aware of his sentiments.1014 At this point, the Governor asked Colonel Goodwin to ascertain if Lasater was in danger of being caught for using cocaine.1015 Colonel Goodwin agreed that Governor Clinton's focus was not on Mr. Lasater's use of cocaine, rather it was directed toward determining whether he was going to be arrested for such use while his company was handling the police radio transaction.1016
Colonel Goodwin then asked a captain in the ASP's Criminal Investigation Department to "quietly find out if there was a major investigation or any investigation going on Dan Lasater at the time."1017 Betsey Wright testified that she also asked Colonel Goodwin to inquire as to whether there were any ongoing criminal investigations of Mr. Lasater. She testified that he reported back to her that there were no investigations outstanding.1018
On December 14, 1983, Mr. Lasater sent Governor Clinton a letter discussing a forthcoming bond liquidation.1019 At the top of the letter is a note written by Mr. Clinton. The part of the note that is discernable addresses Linda Garner,1020 who, at the time, was Insurance Commissioner for the State of Arkansas.1021 The note, presumably written in reaction to the information in the letter, reads, "MS [...] after Garner [...] you talk to her-- we must give him [...] B."1022 Although the note is not precise as to what Governor Clinton wanted to give to Mr. Lasater, he apparently wanted to give him something involving Ms. Garner. That the letter discusses a liquidation of bonds by insurance companies, and suggests that Mr. Clinton wanted to provide liquidation business to Mr. Lasater.
In the summer of 1983, during her tenure as Insurance Commissioner, Ms. Garner placed Mount Hood Pension Fund, National Investors Life Insurance, and National Investors Pension Fund into receivership and became the receiver.1023 Near the end of 1983, Mr. Lasater's company contacted Ms. Garner and expressed a desire to help with the administration of the firm's insurance portfolios.1024 Sometime later, according to Ms. Garner, Governor Clinton "[e]xpressed concern that an Arkansas firm that had been handling might be losing the business...."1025 The Governor also suggested "[a]pointing a broker from E.F. Hutton to select who the portfolio manager would be."1026 Ms. Garner deemed Governor Clinton's suggestion to be inappropriate and told him so.1027 Mr. Lasater's firm had close ties with E.F. Hutton.