HENRYDONZALEZ TEXAS CHAIRMAN STEPHEN & HEAL NORTH CAROLINA FLOYD H. FLAKE. NEW YORK EWEB MUNE MARYLAND LARRY LARGO, CANO BILL DETON UTAN AM BACCHUS. PLORIDA HERBERT C KLEIN, NEW JERSEY BARCLYN & MALONEY, NEW YORK PETER DEUTSCK FLORIDA LAS ✔ GUTERREY, LUNGIS OCDEY LAUBH. LUNCIS WAJILI ROYSALALLARD, CALIFORNIA B GARETH PURES. ONCOGN MYDIA M. VELASQUEZ NEW VORE VEVIN WATT, NORTH CAMUNA DATE: U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON BANKING, FINANCE AND URBAN AFFAIRS TO: Ellen Kulka ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS 2129 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING JAMES A LEALR IDWA WLL MIGOLLUM FLORCA DOUG BEREUTER NEBRASKA THONAS RIEGE PENNSYLYWEA TONY BOTH WRCOVER ALFRED A MECANDI 188, CALIFORNIA RICHAR BAKER LOUISIANA JM NUBBLE IOWA LERMARO SANDERS, VERMONT FROM: PAGES_O MINORITY STAFF 607 O'NEILL BUILDING (Including Coversheet) FAX # (202) 225-5272 Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"), 5 U.8.c. $552, and C.F.R. $1615.7, please consider this letter to be an appeal from the denial by the Resolution Trust Corporation ("RTC") of my request for documents that are in the possession of the RTC and related to Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan and it subsidiaries. The nature of the documents requested and the reasons, I believe denial is in error are set out in the correspondence attached hereto. Given the extensive correspondence that has already occurred on these issues, I respectfully request that I be advised of the disposition of my appeal no later than noon on Wednesday, April 13, 1994. I am writing in reference to the House Banking Committee Minority To assist in this investigation, I request that the RTC provide Please have your staff contact Mike McGarry at 202-225-2258 to discuss arrangements to review the aforementioned documents as soon as possible. I appreciate your assistance and look forward to your cooperation. I am in receipt of your February 1, 1994 response to the letter initiated by Senate Republican leadership concerning Madison Savings and Loan and I am pleased to learn that the RTC "will vigorously pursue all appropriate remedies" with regard to Madison's failure. It seems self-apparent that in order for the RTC to pursue vigorously all remedies it must have all relevant information at its disposal. Accordingly, I urge the RTC to seek and review all Whitewater Development Corporation documents turned over by the White House to the Justice Department. In its investigation of Madison, the Minority has uncovered links between Madison and Whitewater, some of which may have contributed to the thrift's failure. Not only did James and Susan McDougal held significant ownership interest in both entities (approximately two thirds in Madison and one half in Whitewater), but the other joint owners of Whitewater (Bill and Hillary Clinton) appear to have benefited directly and indirectly from the application of Madison resources. [See the attached memo.] If the White House chooses to use the Justice Department to shield Whitewater documents not only from the public and Congress, but from other government agencies, such as the RTC, which have legitimate public law enforcement responsibilities, it is hard to believe a responsible resolution of the issues involved can be zade by regulatory authorities. I have high regard for your personal integrity, but as you know, from the beginning, it has been an awkward situation to have a presidentially appointed and confirmed officer of the Treasury Department also head an independent federal agency, the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). When this prospect was first suggested at the beginning of the clinton Administration, it did Mr. Roger C. Altman February 3, 1994 not strike the Minority as overly unreasonable for a month or two given the fact that no RTC head had been selected. However, it has been over a year since the Administration has been in office and it can only be described as structurally unseemly for a political appointee of an Executive branch department to make what are in effect, law enforcement decisions for an independent federal agency as they may touch upon the President. Accordingly, I would urge that you request from the Department of Treasury's General Counsel and Ethics office advice as to whether you, as interim CEO of the RTC, are obligated to recuse yourself from any decisions concerning the resolution of Madison Guaranty. Just as the special counsel law was designad to relieve the Attorney General from an ethical dilemma of being both chief law enforcement officer for the nation and chief legal advisor to the President in circumstances when the President or a high level Administration officer is the subject of investigation, so it would appear ethically questionable for a political appointee of the Department of Treasury to make decisions for an independent federal agency when the President may be implicated in enforcement and civil actions. In this regard, it should be clear that the issue is not whether a presidentially appointed official can oversee an investigation involving the President. Rather the issue is that officials with this responsibility should be confirmed for the job with that particular accountability. As you will recall it was a political appointee confirmed by the Senate that issued a cease and desist order for engaging in conflicts of interest against the son of a former President. As you know, despite your strong letter to the Chairman of the House Banking Committee recommending against extension, Congress last year extended the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits brought against S&L wrongdoers. As you pointed out in your most recent letter, this extension "has afforded the RTC an opportunity to investigate further any civil claims which may be asserted against individuals or entities associated with Madison Guaranty for fraud, intentional misconduct resulting in unjust enrichment, or intentional misconduct resulting in substantial loss to the institution." Given, however, the impending running of the statute of limitations for certain kinds of actions, time is clearly of the essence for the RTC to make judgments about civil accountability in the failure of Madison. Finally, I would like to reiterate my request, pursuant to Rules X and XI of the House Rules for all documents related to Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan. Little Rock, Arkansas. As you know, |