Matthews imagined committee staffers "feast[ing] their eyes" on Clinton admin. docs
SUMMARY: On Hardball, Chris Matthews speculated about what a release of Clinton administration documents from the National Archives might reveal: "Let's see, the cattle-futures deal that got Hillary a $100,000 windfall, her missing billing records from that Arkansas law firm, [former deputy White House counsel] Vince Foster -- lots of stuff for [Rep. Henry] Waxman's [D-CA] staffers and the Republican staffers on his subcommittee to feast their eyes on." In fact, in a letter to Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Waxman supported a request to the National Archives only for documents pertaining to "political presentations given to federal agencies by the Clinton White House Office of Political Affairs."
On the September 12 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, host Chris Matthews noted that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) "has told the National Archives to give him millions of pages of Clinton White House records that have been previously sealed off from the public" and proceeded to speculate about what might be in the files, stating: "Let's see, the cattle-futures deal that got Hillary a $100,000 windfall, her missing billing records from that Arkansas law firm, [former deputy White House counsel] Vince Foster -- lots of stuff for Waxman's staffers and the Republican staffers on his subcommittee to feast their eyes on." In fact, in his letter to Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), Waxman supported a request to the National Archives only for documents pertaining to "political presentations given to federal agencies by the Clinton White House Office of Political Affairs." Contrary to Matthews' claims that the records were "previously sealed off from the public," Waxman also noted in his letter that "many of the records you seek may already be in the Committee archives" and wrote: "Regarding the specifics of your other requests, the Committee's own archives of Clinton-era documents are so broad and voluminous that they should already contain responsive documents, if such documents exist."
Furthermore, Clinton's "missing billing records" were turned over to prosecutors -- who opted not to prosecute -- in 1996, and numerous investigations into Foster's death have determined that it was the result of a suicide, a conclusion that to this day does not satisfy right-wing conspiracy theorists unwilling to let go of the suspicion that the Clintons were somehow involved (here and here, for example). Clinton's purported "missing billing records from that Arkansas law firm" are already publicly available. As Media Matters for America has noted, the Office of the Independent Counsel received the billing records in February 1996, according to a February 22, 1996, Washington Post report. Regarding Matthews' allusion to Whitewater, three independent counsels -- all Republicans -- the Resolution Trust Corp, the (Republican-controlled) House Banking Committee, and the (Republican-controlled) Senate Whitewater committee, in addition to every major news organization in America, spent years investigating Whitewater. None uncovered evidence of wrongdoing by the Clintons.
From the September 12 edition of MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews:
MATTHEWS: And look out, Hillary. The toughest investigator in Congress, the great Henry Waxman of L.A., has told the National Archives to give him millions of pages of Clinton White House records that have been previously sealed off from the public.
Let's see, the cattle-futures deal that got Hillary a $100,000 windfall, her missing billing records from that Arkansas law firm, Vince Foster -- lots of stuff for Waxman's staffers and the Republican staffers on his subcommittee to feast their eyes on.
As I've have said before, there's nothing like the power of the subpoena.
of course, it was bush who issued an executive order that presidential papers could be kept from the public.
http://libraryjournal.com/article/CA6425078.html
Are you trying to make sense or something?
He's had other opions about supena's. I looked back a bit on his archive here. He opposed their use against Gonzales on Apirl 23rd, and against Karl Rove on March 21st.
On the main issue will this give the I Hate Clinton crowd the political steroid shot that will tip them into true madness. Probably not, but its such a tease on them.
I'd settle for simply seeing who was on Norman Hsu's bundle list that donated that $800,000. :-)
Well, she's returning all of Hsu's bundled money, and there's a federal investigation pending into Hsu's donors, so why don't you just sit back and crack open a cold one while the FBI does its job?
The Clintons are at this wierd epicenter where faith-based reality meets the real world. Some people BELIEVE all this crazy stuff about the Clintons. There is no investigation, or it's conclusions that will ever change their minds. No detail summation and debunking will have any effect. They are cultically bonded to these ideas and so for them the reality is the Clintons are crooks and murderers NO MATTER WHAT THE FACTS ARE.
Chris Matthews is a ridiculous man-child and he's lucky that they can edit out the shots of him drooling on himself.
Temp, you're exactly right. It's disturbing, the level of obsession and resistance to reality programmed into the anti-Clinton zealots. Especially considering, as you mention, the lack of substance that most of the tin-foil hat accusations end up with.
This Clinton-fixated group (which includes Limbaugh, Hannity, people I know personally and posters here) are like teenage boys who repeatedly build themselves up over online romances, only to discover that the reality is nowhere near as juicy as they'd imagined.
Most teenage boys, however, would learn something after a few deflated fantasies. The anti-Clinton maniacs don't seem affected by reality, and in fact, add every debunked conspiracy directly to the "historical facts" file.
I'm hoping somebody can beat out Hillary for the nomination, but if she's the one, the smear machine is going to be bizarre.
There is one thing that I find particularly amazing about the Clintons. Even though they have been dragged through the mud, and continue to get dragged through the mud and have slings and arrows shot at them from many different locations, they both continue to serve the public and the country. If I were them, I'd go out on the public speaking tours, write some books, and collect my large checks.
I agree with both of you. I think that the original Clinton-bashers resented their popularity and have never stopped doing everything they could to destroy it; it has become a cottage industry. Reality doesn't matter to them (I know several as well) and they will happily contradict themselves as they preach. They’re like conspiracy theorists that perpetuate the theories they claim to debunk.
When your "team" is made up of Bush, Cheney, Libby, DeLay, Vitter, Cunningham, et al..., how else are you going to elevate the image of your side, besides demonizing your opponents? Your only viable option is to diminish the most recent successful administration this country had - the Clintons.
It's not a fixation. It's just the only thing they've got left. What else do you expect them to do? Trumpet the successes of George W. Bush?
BHAAAAAHAaahaaaaaa.......
Hillary's team is probably thinking with her being called a liar, thief, and murderer already, there is nothing new they can throw at her.
I suppose the Republicans could forward the idea that she is a human alien hybrid bent on global domination...we haven't heard that one yet.
There are some people who wouldn't let Hillary pull them out of a burning building. Her campaign has written these people off if they are smart.
This is the GOP's only possible inocculation in 2008, assuming Hillary is the Democratic nominee. It's now clear that the Iraq war will still be going on during the election, so they must do whatever they can to distract their base from the ugly mess their party has created.
On a side note...how many of the 30 percenters believe that Bill Clinton raped Juanita Brodderick? Most, I would venture. Now, ask those same people if they believe it possible that Bush and Cheney manipulated the WMD intelligence before the Iraq War. Probably Zero.
What's the connection, you ask? How many people claim that Clinton raped Juanita? One (1). How many have said that the WMD intelligence was cherrypicked? Several...probably dozens. The sad thing is that the Press apparently sides with the 30 percenters on this one.
Geez Chrissie, if you want "follow the money" stuff, how about a peek inside those Pentagon billings for Iraq private vendors. Ah, who cares, thats just our tax money.
Pallets of U.S. bills shoveled into the pockets of Bushco's corporate elite buddies or given as bribes...taxpayer dollars, by the way.
How much taxpayer money was misplaced over there? Three billion unaccounted for in any way, and countless more given for shoddy work by Halliburton, etc.
This story SCREAMS for more attention by the press. Thanks for bringing it up.
Of course it screams for attention. There are numerous stories related to this obscene war that scream for attention. Why the press refuses to even crack the lid on these scandals is beyond me. When was the last time you heard one of these talking head "journalists" even mention the subject of prewar intelligence?
Your point about tax dollars is dead on. The Republicans who simply shrug their shoulders at the Billions wasted in Iraq are the same ones who collapse to the floor, kicking and screaming if you suggest that one penny of their tax dollar be used to provide health insurance or daycare for a welfare mother. Amazing.
SAVE DEMOCRACY, VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT!!
Clinton yeilded to the Starr Investigation in ways that could not have consealed anything about Hillary's finances, or her billing as an attorney, had they there certainly would have been a indictment!!
8 years of a Republican assault through the Independant Prosecuter Law that yeilded only a dirty dress, and a hagle of hypocrites screaming for impeachment of that "nasty, naughty, dirty boy." Republican Governance at it's best!!
This is all they got!! The Party of New Ideas, and NO IDEA HOW TO GOVERN WITHOUT STEALING GOVERNMENT BLIND, AND ERODING IT AT EVERY LEVEL!!
Happy Thoughts;
Dan Grady
Gee, Dan, you also sound like you're trying to make sense or something. You're not allowed to be logical about the Clintons.
Year and years and all the Thug party got was lying about a blowjob. Yeah, that sure sounds like a good use of taxpayer resources.
Bush has lied, obsfucated, misled, is a serial liar, has cost this country tens of thousands of lives both in dead and wounded, bankrupted our economy(like the price of gas and food these days? Thank GW) and wants nothing more than to turn the U.S. into Mexico north by opening the borders, giving amnesty to millions of lawbreakers(while making sure pot smokers get the maximum sentences) and try to turn every government agency over to privateers who will only rape the U.S. Treasury while providing less service (sort of like HMOs who use some idiot in a cubicle to determine life or death for a patient).
Yeah sure Chimpy McFlightsuit is just a peachy keen president we should all admire.
I wish I could find some of what you rightwing whackjobs are smoking. It's gotta get you higher than anything illegal today.
I just have to wonder who feed this story to Tweety. Someone handed it to him and he went with it without and fact checking or giving any idea of his source.