Henry Hyde has noticed the same think I did last Sunday. The democrats are deliberately confusing the public by making contradictory complaints:
September 23, 1998
For IMMEDIATE Release
Statement by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde:
I fully agree with Minority Leader Gephardt's
desire to see the House complete its work as
expeditiously as possible. There is a
difference, however, between expeditious
work and artificial deadlines which only
invite stalling tactics. The key is to remain
faithful to our oath of office to discharge
faithfully our constitutional duties no matter
how long it takes.
The President had 8 months to tell the truth,
but instead he sent his staff out to declare his
innocence to the world. Now the Democrats
want to shut down an inquiry of his behavior
in 30 days. I think the American people want
and deserve a full, fair, and independent
review of the allegations against the
President, not a quick peek or passing glance.
The House only received the Independent
Counsel's report 2 weeks ago.
The Democrats' mixed messages are
thoroughly confusing and reveal a disturbing
pattern:
On the one hand, they want an
expeditious process, on the other hand
they attacked us last week for moving
too quickly.
On the one hand, they say we have all the
materials we need to wrap this up in 30
days. On the other hand, they say we
need more materials from the
Independent Counsel's office before we
can fairly resolve this matter.
On the one hand, they say we should
follow the Watergate precedent (which
took 9 months to do its work). On the
other hand, they want a timetable which
was specifically considered and rejected
by the House in 1974.
In the interests of expedition, I have
consulted with Mr. Conyers on a timetable
for the remainder of this Congress which I
hope to release in the very near future.
As for the reports that the Office of the
Independent Counsel has additional
documents relating to the Lewinsky matter, I
am prepared to seek, in consultation with Mr.
Conyers, any materials relevant to the
Committee's work if and when we proceed
further. The immediate question before the
Committee is whether the information we
have received warrants further inquiry. If the
House believes that it does, the additional
documents will be given fair consideration.
Finally, the White House continues to assert
quite falsely that the Committee's actions are
being dictated by the Speaker. Nothing could
be further from the truth. Any statements to
the contrary are merely political spin intended
to undermine the credibility of the
Committee's process. |
