Word: bentsens
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Roger Altman probably knew his days were numbered when Bill Clinton issued a tepid, one-sentence endorsement of his college chum and campaign fund raiser. In a statement released by Treasury chief Lloyd Bentsen last Monday, Clinton said, "I believe that Roger Altman has been an excellent Deputy Treasury Secretary, and we want him to continue in that capacity." In Washington, where what isn't said is often more important than what is, those less than bracing words of support could have another translation: "Pack your bags...
Secretary Bentsen, who surprisingly was neither interviewed nor deposed by special prosecutor Fiske, now faces additional questions about his role. So Cutler could prepare for the hearings, last weekend Bentsen turned over to him copies of interviews with Altman, Hanson and White House aide George Stephanopoulos that had been conducted by the Treasury's inspector general -- this before the I.G.'s report had been completed. Sherman Funk, a veteran inspector general in Washington, called Bentsen's action "totally inappropriate...
...meeting, Nussbaum and other White House officials preferred that Altman not recuse himself from the RTC's Madison-Whitewater case. At the time of the session, Altman was leaning toward relinquishing his formal authority over the case, as he was advised to do by several Treasury colleagues, including Bentsen. But when the meeting got under way, the White House officials "reacted very negatively," wrote Josh Steiner, the Treasury Department chief of staff, who kept a detailed diary of the events. The White House, he noted, was very concerned about "turning the RTC" over to people the White House "didn...
...nonetheless apologized for potentially misleading testimony given at an earlier hearing. During intense grilling by committee members, Altman pointed out that three independent investigations had discovered no interference by Clinton Administration officials in the case of the failed Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan. Earlier in the day, Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen's chief of staff, Joshua Steiner, tried to dismiss the accuracy of entries in his diary, in which he had written that Altman had "gracefully ducked" a question about Whitewater-related meetings...
...acknowledge knowing of any earlier meetings. Even before her Sept. 30 memo turned up, however, Hanson reportedly told investigators that Altman not only knew about similar meetings in September and October 1993 but actually ordered them. Those reports have touched off rumors that Altman, once thought likely to succeed Bentsen at Treasury, is considering resigning. Sources close to Altman deny it. And the White House has not indicated that it wants Altman to go. Altman has released a statement saying, "My recollection may differ from Miss Hanson's, but there is nothing unusual about that...