Hearing Impaired

THE Senate’s special committee on Whitewater is listening as Clifford Sloan, a lawyer on the White House counsel’s staff, describes a search of Vince Foster’s office on July 22, 1993, two days after Foster’s death. Earlier, Michael Spafford had testified that Sloan had noticed scraps of paper inside Foster’s briefcase that day. The White House has contended that nobody found the scraps of a note by Foster until July 24. Now Sloan says that his “recollection is very limited.” But Sen. Bill Frist (R., Tenn.) is puzzled: how can Sloan simultaneously dispute Spafford’s account and maintain that he does not remember the incident well?

Sloan’s attempts to wriggle off this hook are mildly entertaining, but not many people are paying attention. The room is mostly empty. “Why should anyone come?” asks a congressional staffer. “Everyone knows nothing’s happening.”

About the Author

Ramesh Ponnuru

Ramesh Ponnuru is the editor of National Review, a columnist for the Washington Post, and a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

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THE Senate’s special committee on Whitewater is listening as Clifford Sloan, a lawyer on the White House counsel’s staff, describes a search of Vince Foster’s office on July 22, 1993, two days after Foster’s death. Earlier, Michael Spafford had testified that Sloan had noticed scraps of paper inside Foster’s briefcase that day. The White House has contended that nobody found the scraps of a note by Foster until July 24. Now Sloan says that his “recollection is very limited.” But Sen. Bill Frist (R., Tenn.) is puzzled: how can Sloan simultaneously dispute Spafford’s account and maintain that he does not remember the incident well?

Sloan’s attempts to wriggle off this hook are mildly entertaining, but not many people are paying attention. The room is mostly empty. “Why should anyone come?” asks a congressional staffer. “Everyone knows nothing’s happening.”