"The American people have a right to see those who are responsible for criminal acts of political corruption exposed and brought to justice."
It's not uncommon for the politically naive to repeat the disingenuous challenge dreamed up by Clinton spinmeisters: "If the President's committed so many crimes, why is he still in office?" Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana offers one explanation: evidence has been withheld and witnesses have refused to cooperate.
"Since the beginning of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee investigation into illegal foreign contributions made during the 1996 presidential campaign, the White House as well as the Democrats on the committee have done everything they possibly could to obstruct the investigation," charges chairman Burton. "Ninety-two people have either invoked their 5th Amendment right against testifying or have fled the country to evade subpoenas."
In a front-page commentary in the national conservative weekly Human Events, Burton blasts Bill Clinton for his steady stonewalling. "The White House strategy has been clear all along," the Indiana Republican contends. "Attack the investigators, stall and delay the investigations as long as possible, then have White House allies in Congress criticize the length of the investigation." Burton complains that the truth is hard to come by when "all of the President's men and women are either fleeing the country or taking the 5th Amendment against self-incrimination."
Burton insists that he's protecting the legitimate interests of the citizenry. "The American people have a right to know why [former Associate Attorney General and convicted felon Webster] Hubbell received a $100,000 payment from the Riady family of Indonesia," he asserts. "Americans have a right to know why Hubbell received $700,000 in payments -- most of it from friends and associates of President Clinton -- at a time when Hubbell was under criminal investigation and was believed to be a key witness in matters related to the President and First Lady."
Congressman Burton promises to persist in his pursuit of the truth. "Since this investigation began, the White House and committee Democrats have tried to drag it out and keep us from getting at the facts," he complains. "They keep information from us, then they blame us for taking so long. They try to keep us from talking to witnesses who want to talk to us, then they blame us for taking too long. But we are not going to stop until we get the truth," Burton declares, "because the American people have a right to know if their government is for sale, if their foreign policy is for sale, if their defense capability is for sale."
Yes, evidence has been withheld and witnesses have refused to cooperate, but that doesn't explain the seeming nonchalance of so many prominent political figures. One wonders how many of them share a vested interest with the President in keeping the lid on, how many have other skeletons hidden and find themselves daunted by White House possession of 900 FBI files, and how many simply would prefer not to wind up like Vince Foster and Ron Brown.
