Bob Dole: “Yesterday, I delivered a letter to the distinguished majority leader expressing my hope--and I believe the hope of most…”

“Yesterday, I delivered a letter to the distinguished majority leader expressing my hope--and I believe the hope of most Senate Republicans--that we will be able to find some way to hold public and bipartisan hearings into the so-called Whitewater affair. On Wednesday, independent counsel Robert Fiske met with my distinguished colleagues, Senators D'Amato and Cohen, to outline his concerns about how public hearings may affect his investigation. It is certainly understandable that Mr. Fiske would want to protect his own prosecutorial turf. That is his job. But Mr. Fiske must understand that Congress has its own job to do as well. As Charles Krauthammer pointed out in today's Washington Post, and I quote: The prosecutor's interest is prosecution. The public interest is disclosure. The prosecutor tries to find breachers of law. The public needs to know about breachers of trust. So, Mr. President, public hearings are not meant to supplant or second-guess Mr. Fiske's investigation. On the contrary, hearings are essential if the Senate is to fulfill its own constitutional obligation to oversee executive branch activities.”