Bob Bennett: “I appreciate the comments made by the distinguished majority leader. I do not wish to engage in controversy with him…”

“I appreciate the comments made by the distinguished majority leader. I do not wish to engage in controversy with him over this matter, but I would like to have printed in the Record comments by the New York Times in their lead editorial this morning. The New York Times is not known as being substantially supportive of Republican efforts in the past, and they have seen fit to comment on this issue in ways that I think are instructive and are appropriate at this point. I will submit the entire editorial and ask that it be printed in the Record, but if I might, first, I would like to read a few paragraphs from it that I think are appropriate here. The Times says: A potentially destructive battle over how best to investigate the Whitewater affair has erupted between Republicans who are pressing for congressional hearings and the independent counsel, Robert Fiske, who is pursuing a criminal investigation. That is the subject the majority leader just outlined for us on the floor. The Times goes on to make the majority leader's case in the first sentence. It says: Mr. Fiske fears that a rogue Congress could foul up his work--which it could if it plunges ahead with abandon.…”