Posted on 02/09/2002 6:59:22 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
In an astonishing reversal of President Bush's nonchalant attitude towards an array of corruption charges against Bill and Hillary Clinton, the president and his aides are now said to be "quietly pushing" a probe into allegations that Clinton staffers trashed the White House in Jan. 2001.
What's more, they've asked that the newly revved up investigation focus on the East Wing, where former first lady Hillary Clinton had her offices.
The shift could mean the GAO probe will also examine evidence that Mrs. Clinton absconded with furniture and other White House artifacts to decorate her private mansions in New York and Washington.
"White House folks suggested we cast as wide a net as possible," GAO director Bernard Ungar told the New York Daily News Saturday, adding that the Bushies wanted to redirect the probe's previous focus from the Eisenhower office building to Mrs. Clinton official digs.
The request for action on the Clinton vandalism charges prompted complaints from GAO chief David Walker, who told the News, "they want us to do more work than is even reasonable."
The Clinton probe could prove distracting to Walker's focus in recent weeks: prying loose White House records on meetings between Vice President Dick Cheney and Enron officials.
Immediately after reports of White House vandalism, Bush seemed to take no interest in the episode and urged the media to look that other way.
"There might have been a prank or two, maybe somebody put a cartoon on the wall, but that's OK." he told reporters. "It's time now to move forward."
But after Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner complained last June that Clinton workers had been unfairly smeared and demanded the Bushies apologize, White House press spokesman Ari Fleischer said the destruction was more extensive then the president had let on.
A list of damages he released included:
75 phones that had been "tampered with," including 10 where the lines had been cut.
Twenty percent of the desks in the Eisenhower Office complex had been overturned.
Obscene graffiti was discovered by Bush staffers in six offices.
A 20-inch-wide presidential seal had been ripped off a wall.
One hundred computer keyboards had been rendered inoperable by the Clinton vandals.
Pornography was left behind in White House photocopiers.
Trash was spilled throughout the White House counsel's office, along with other assorted random damage.
One estimate put the cost of the destruction as high as $250,000.
Bush administration spokeswoman Claire Buchan said the White House counsel's office had photographs of the vandalism, but did not explain why they were not offered to the GAO when the agency first requested proof in April.
In releasing the list of damages, Fleischer explained, "We tried to be gracious, but the last administration would not take graciousness." Claims that Bush staffers had lied about the destruction had forced him to respond, he said.
After Fleischer's comments, the GAO's Ungar began backtracking on his April report that there was no unusual damage to the White House after Clinton staffers departed.
"Ungar said the GAO found accounts of damage that included telephones disconnected from wall jacks, phones with extension numbers defaced and tables and desks that were overturned," reported Newsday, in a follow up story on Fleischer's list.
It's not clear whether the White House's newly aggressive attitude will translate into action in the office of the U.S. Attorney for New York's Southern District, which has been accused of footdragging in its probe into the Clinton Pardongate scandal.
"Sec. 702. - General Accounting Office
(a)
The General Accounting Office is an instrumentality of the United States Government independent of the executive departments. "
The White House has only reported the damage to the GAO.
Walker's complaints at having to do his job and investigate destruction of public property should be directed towards the congress that gave his agency that duty.
If he no longer wants to work at the GAO, he can leave for a cushy DNC arranged job.
"Lickety-split" is more appropriate.
You are right...
I wonder if something is getting ready to break and this is an pre-emptive attempt gather sympathy for poor, poor Hillary?
That is another tried & true tactic.
Look at how many use this opportunity to gripe about Bush not pushing this before. Then another group is just SURE that we are going to have a trial.
This is NOT a credible story, in that there are no sources except that Clintonista guy at GAO. No one from the administration is pushing this. Some Republicans in Congress MIGHT be pushing, bull-headed as they are.
You are correct. It is a "poor Hillary " story and transparently so. I do believe this will backfire on them, however. I am watching with great interest to see how this will happen, because I KNOW that it will.
The point in bringing up the Salon.com article was not to validate the contents of the article, but rather to substantiate my belief that Bernard Ungar can be fairly catagorized as a "media whore".
She needs a good, hard slap. Bush bides his time, but when he hits I do believe he hits hard.
By the way...didn't Walker (GAO) once work for Andersen?
I never miss your posts! You vent 'just right'. Never stop!!! And I hope I am right about holding back the ammo and keeping it safe, never, ever using it until and unless certain action by opponents warrant lock and loading. My guess-locking and loading and perhaps aiming- (heh heh) is going on right now. Ever so gently....for now. :^)
We bombed an aspirin factory to cover Bill Clinton's rear over Monica. The USS Cole was bombed to cover another scandal, and it seems to me that September 11th can be traced back to Clinton in ways that nobody has thought about. I can tell you, we can blame the Dems for all that has happened to America over the 8 years Clinton was in office. I wonder why we haven't been told the truth about the Murrah Building in OKC?
Hey, ya never know.. it COULD be true... ;0)
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