John Conyers: “today we have learned that the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight has fired his chief…”

“today we have learned that the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight has fired his chief investigator and apologized to his fellow Republicans for any embarrassment caused by his actions in releasing distorted summaries of telephone conversations between Mr. Hubbell and his wife. If the chairman now recognizes that the actions taken by his committee were wrong, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) also owes an apology to Mr. and Mrs. Hubbell as well as the President and the First Lady. The release of those summaries as well as the tapes themselves represents something that may be truly unprecedented in the House of Representatives: the elevation of partisanship over the sanctity of the privacy of conversations between a husband and wife. This is such a profound affront to most people's sensibilities and the values that we hold dear that it raises new questions about whether the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) can or ought to continue to lead that committee's investigation into alleged campaign finance violations. Chairman Burton's continuing release of the private telephone conversations of Mr. Hubbell, including conversations with his wife and his attorney, appear to represent a serious abuse of government power intended to humiliate Mr. Hubbell because of his prior association with the Clinton administration.”