Disgraced and Disgraceful
Mr. Burton, Have You No Sense of Decency?
FEATURE
Dan Burton -
Disgraced and Disgraceful Mr. Burton, Have You No Sense of Decency?
It is now time for Rep. Dan Burton to step down.
MONDAY MAY 5th 1998 --- New York (APJP) -- Anyone reading American Politics Journal on a regular basis knows that we have been very tough on Sunday morning pundit anchors -- especially Tim Russert of NBC's Meet The Press and Wolf Blitzer of CNN, who've both made a barrel full of money at the White House's expense. Both Russert and Blitzer haven't given a scintilla of thought to what their wild accusations and statements of fantasy as facts have done to the Hillary and Bill Clinton, let alone their young daughter Chelsea, now at Stanford.
But Russert and Blitzer reclaimed at least part of their reputations for honesty yesterday when they exposed the vile chicanery of Representative Dan Burton (R-IL) -- an elected official recently charged with extorting foreign governments and lobbyists for campaign contributions. Both Russert and Blitzer pulled down his unethical pants and exposed him for what he is -- a purveyor of lies and a master of deceit.
Burton, Chairman of the House Government Reform & Oversight Committee and eagerly an insane part of a new tough "Get Clinton" offensive lead by House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- who himself has been charged with more than 70 offenses and escaped prosecution thus far -- announced he would publicize taped private conversations between Clinton friend and convicted felon Webster Hubbell, his wife, and his attorney.
Attorney-client conversations are privileged under law. But this meant nothing to Burton, a man who amuses himself and embarrasses his constituents by shooting cantaloupes with a handgun in his Indiana backyard in an attempt to "prove" his private theory that Bill and Hillary Clinton had their best friend, Vince Foster, murdered.
Burton got the tapes -- more than 120 hours of Hubbell's phone exchanges from the prison in which Hubbell spent time after being convicted of bilking the Rose Law Firm and its clients. Most of these conversations were with his wife, and contain private moments. But Burton was able to sift through the transcripts and find a few lines -- which, when doctored by him and his staff by taking them out of context, seemed to say that:
Both Russert and Blitzer smelled a rat, and obtained the tapes themselves.
What they found was stunning: not only had Burton excised portions of the taped conversations, but he had also cut away portions of the conversations -- directly after ones quoted -- which proved the opposite of what Burton was alleging!
Tim Russert confronted the smug Burton only after he made a fool of himself with wild allegations about Hillary Clinton and a "promised presidential pardon" -- neither of which were true.
Burton, were he not on national television, would have run for his life.
Two hours later, Wolf Blitzer did the same thing on CNN's Late Edition.
"These tapes have all been edited so as to change their meaning," Hubbell attorney John Nields told ABC's This Week. Burton said on CNN's Late Edition, however, that only portions of the tapes had been released "to protect the privacy" of Hubbell and his wife, Suzanna.
A more pathetic and reaching explanation could not be invented.
Rahm Emanuel of the White House accused Burton of "altering and doctoring" the material his committee released. "The leadership of the Congress is now going to have to figure out what to do with the Chairman and this committee," added Emanuel.
What's worse is that Burton violated federal law by publishing much of the taped material under the Federal Privacy Act. Already under investigation for campaign finance malfeasance, Burton may have succeeded in opening a new case against him by what his twisted mind thought was a cunning political move.
Hubbell's lawyer said the tapes "have confidential conversations between husband and wife, between client and lawyer. They are covered by the Privacy Act," he added.
He rejected a challenge by Burton that Hubbell approve the public release all 150 hours of tapes of Hubbell's conversations from prison with his wife, an attorney and a friend. Burton made this offer only after his lies were uncovered by NBC and CNN.
Released portions of the tapes showed Burton had edited out material from the tapes, including some in mid-conversation: on one of the tapes Hubbell said, "I will not raise those allegations that might open it up to Hillary." Burton claimed over and over again this week that this suggested possible wrongdoing by Mrs. Clinton.
But in the immediately following remarks made by Hubbell in the same conversation and played to the red-faced Burton on NBC's Meet the Press, Hubbell clears Mrs. Clinton of any wrongdoing in the phony and padded billing case that sent him to prison.
Here's the portion Burton, so conveniently, left out:
"They wouldn't have let her if she'd tried," Mrs. Hubbell replied in this March 15, 1996, conversation.
"Of course not," said Hubbell.
It was planned, it was a lie, and Burton should resign.
Burton also claimed the White House was about to pardon Hubbell -- another lie! Attorney Nields said Sunday that the tape Burton played all weekend on that issue was not about a pardon but about promised immunity from Ken Starr -- which, by the way, was granted right after the presidential election, as discussed with Hubbell on that taped telephone call.
Burton, realizing he'd been found out, blurted out -- in near hysterics -- "We released those tapes in accordance with the law" and then claimed he doctored them because he wanted to "protect the privacy" of Mr. & Mrs. Hubbell.
"Too little, too late," was the reaction from a key Republican leadership this morning.
One staffer said, off the record, that the Speaker was considering removing Burton as the Chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, and quoted Gingrich as muttering, "What does he want to do, lose the House for us in November?"
The fact remains that Burton is an out-of-control laughingstock who is now placing members of his own party in dire electoral jeopardy. Small telephone and in-person meetings were held from Saturday evening through this morning in Washington regarding Burton's latest escapade. Only last week Burton was quoted as calling the President a "scum bag" and that he was "out to get him" -- this from the Chairman of a committee charged by the law to hold fair and non-partisan investigations.
Republicans, back from recess for only a week, were already stunned by what they heard from constituents at home in their districts. The message? Stop this circus and get on with the people's business.
Now Burton, the most visible high-ranking Republican on a seemingly perpetual witch-hunt aimed at the Clintons, has succeeded once again in rubbing salt into the wounded ratings of his fellow Republicans slapped by the people who put them in office.
It is time that Burton voluntarily step down from his chairmanship, resign from the House of Representatives in shame, and thereby turn over the House Government Reform & Oversight Committee chairmanship to a colleague with at least a scintilla of decency.
- The Editors
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