John Sarbanes: “I think it is a perfectly legitimate question for the public to be asking. I do not think there is any question about…”

“I think it is a perfectly legitimate question for the public to be asking. I do not think there is any question about it. First of all, it must be understood that the independent counsel's work will continue. Who knows how long that will go on. Under the charter, it is unlimited and the amount of resources is unlimited. They have already, we understand, spent $25 million, or at the rate of $1 million a month. He has broad authority. He has a professional staff of approximately 130 people, 30 attorneys, over 100 FBI and IRS agents, and the Reauthorization Act sets no limits on the duration or the cost of his investigation. So that is at work. It has been at work for a long time. It will continue to be at work. Now, he is about to start some trials. The other side treats those trials as though they are going to be held on camera. They say, 'We need the testimony of the people at those trials.' Those people are going to make their testimony at the trial, and it will be on the public record. This committee has held almost 50 days of hearings. It has heard from over 120 witnesses. It has taken over 200 depositions. It has gotten tens of thousands of pages of documents from the White House and from the President and First Lady's private attorney. It has nearly 30,000 pages of deposition testimony.”