Union Calendar No. 470 105th Congress, 2d Session ±±±±±±±±±± House Report 105±828 INVESTIGATION OF THE CONVERSION OF THE $1.7 MILLION CENTRALIZED WHITE HOUSE COMPUTER SYSTEM, KNOWN AS THE WHITE HOUSE DATABASE, AND RE- LATED MATTERS FIFTH REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT together with MINORITY AND SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS OCTOBER 30, 1998.ÐCommitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Union Calendar No. 470 105th Congress, 2d Session ±±±±±±±±±± House Report 105±828 INVESTIGATION OF THE CONVERSION OF THE $1.7 MILLION CENTRALIZED WHITE HOUSE COMPUTER SYSTEM, KNOWN AS THE WHITE HOUSE DATABASE, AND RE- LATED MATTERS FIFTH REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT together with MINORITY AND SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS OCTOBER 30, 1998.ÐCommitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 51±349 WASHINGTON : 1998 INVESTIGATION OF THE CONVERSION OF THE $1.7 MILLION CENTRALIZED WHITE HOUSE COMPUTER SYSTEM, KNOWN AS THE WHITE HOUSE DATABASE, AND RELATED MATTERS COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM AND OVERSIGHT DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York HENRY A. WAXMAN, California J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois TOM LANTOS, California CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland ROBERT E. WISE, JR., West Virginia CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut MAJOR R. OWENS, New York CHRISTOPHER COX, California EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York GARY A. CONDIT, California STEPHEN HORN, California CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York JOHN L. MICA, Florida THOMAS M. BARRETT, Wisconsin THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington, DAVID M. MCINTOSH, Indiana DC MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois MARSHALL ``MARK'' SANFORD, South DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois Carolina JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire JIM TURNER, Texas PETE SESSIONS, Texas THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine MICHAEL PAPPAS, New Jersey HAROLD E. FORD, JR., Tennessee VINCE SNOWBARGER, Kansas ÐÐÐ BOB BARR, Georgia BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont DAN MILLER, Florida (Independent) RON LEWIS, Kentucky KEVIN BINGER, Staff Director DANIEL R. MOLL, Deputy Staff Director DAVID A. KASS, Deputy Counsel and Parliamentarian LISA SMITH ARAFUNE, Deputy Chief Clerk PHIL SCHILIRO, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL ECONOMIC GROWTH, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS DAVID M. MCINTOSH, Indiana, Chairman JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts J. DENNIS HASTERT, Illinois BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida HAROLD E. FORD, JR., Tennessee JOHN B. SHADEGG, Arizona PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio GARY A. CONDIT, California VINCE SNOWBARGER, Kansas DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio BOB BARR, Georgia ÐÐÐ ÐÐÐ PETE SESSIONS, Texas EX OFFICIO DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California MILDRED J. WEBBER, Staff Director J. KEITH AUSBROOK, Chief Counsel JAY APPERSON, Special Counsel CHIP GRIFFIN, Professional Staff Member R. ANDREW WILDER, Clerk KRISTIN L. AMERLING, Minority Counsel ELIZABETH MUNDINGER, Minority Counsel (II) LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, DC, October 30, 1998. Hon. NEWT GINGRICH, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC. DEAR MR. SPEAKER: By direction of the Committee on Govern- ment Reform and Oversight, I submit herewith the committee's fifth report to the 105th Congress. The committee's report is based on a study conducted by its Subcommittee on National Economic Growth, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs. DAN BURTON, Chairman. (III) C O N T E N T S Page I. Summary and Overview ................................................................................ 1 II. Perjury and Obstruction ................................................................................ 6 III. Unlawful Distribution of White House Data and Conversion of White House Resources for Political Purposes .................................................... 14 IV. The President and First Lady Knew of the Conversion of Government Resources to Benefit the DNC and the Campaign .................................. 49 V. Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 57 VI. Rules Requirements ....................................................................................... 57 Endnotes ................................................................................................................... 59 Index of supporting documents ............................................................................... 74 VIEWS Minority views of Hon. Henry A. Waxman, Hon. Tom Lantos, Hon. Robert E. Wise, Jr., Hon. Major R. Owens, Hon. Edolphus Towns, Hon. Paul E. Kanjorski, Hon. Gary A. Condit, Hon. Bernard Sanders, Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney, Hon. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Hon. Chaka Fattah, Hon. Elijah E. Cummings, Hon. Dennis J. Kucinich, Hon. Rod R. Blagojevich, Hon. Danny K. Davis, Hon. Thomas H. Allen, and Hon. Harold E. Ford, Jr .......... 556 Supplemental views of Hon. David M. McIntosh .................................................. 664 (V) Union Calendar No. 470 105TH CONGRESS REPORT 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 105±828 "! INVESTIGATION OF THE CONVERSION OF THE $1.7 MILLION CENTRAL- IZED WHITE HOUSE COMPUTER SYSTEM, KNOWN AS THE WHITE HOUSE DATABASE, AND RELATED MATTERS OCTOBER 30, 1998.ÐCommitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. BURTON of Indiana, from the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, submitted the following FIFTH REPORT together with MINORITY AND SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS On October 9, 1998, the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight approved and adopted a report entitled, ``Investigation of the Conversion of the $1.7 Million Centralized White House Com- puter System, Known as the White House Database, and Related Matters.'' The chairman was directed to transmit a copy to the Speaker of the House. I. SUMMARY AND OVERVIEW The story of the White House Database is one about a White House that disregarded the difference between the official business of the U.S. Government and the political business of reelecting the President. Because the line between official business and cam- paigning was obliterated, this President and his White House sub- ordinates proceeded to spend at least $1.7 million of government funds on a complex, centralized computer system known as the White House Database or ``WhoDB.'' It was used not just for official purposes; senior White House staff planned and, in fact, used it to advance the campaign fundraising objectives of the Democratic Na- tional Committee [DNC]. This conversion of government property to the use of the DNC constitutes a theft of government property under 18 U.S.C. § 641. 2 Similarly, White House staff, at the President's direction, used other White House resources to translate their new expertise in database development, acquired at government expense, to plan the development and use of databases for the DNC and other politi- cal committees in violation of the Hatch Act, 5 U.S.C § 7324, which restricts government employee use of government property for po- litical activities. This, too, represents a theft of government prop- erty. The conversion of the White House Database and other govern- ment resources to benefit the DNC and the President's campaign in this way was an integral part of the conversion of the Nation's White House into the political fundraising tool of the President and the DNC. With respect to the Database alone, the conversion of that resource was simply a continuation of the obliteration of any distinction between the official functions of the White House and the campaign to reelect the President. Prior to the deployment of the White House Database, lists gen- erated by White House computers for invitations or attendance at social events, meetings, and other White House functions were rou- tinely provided to the DNC and the Clinton/Gore '96 campaign. These lists included, for example, the 1993 and 1994 Holiday Card lists, among others, that were assembled through White House computers, merged with DNC lists and campaign lists, and then left in the possession of the DNC and the Clinton/Gore campaign for their use. The names and addresses of the people to whom the President and First Lady send holiday cards are a very valuable asset to those entities. They are also the property of the U.S. Gov- ernment. The President's involvement in the plan to convert government property to the DNC and the ultimate accomplishment of that plan (represented by the transfer of these lists and data to the DNC and the Clinton/Gore campaign) motivated the White House to mount an extraordinary effort to delay and impede the investigation. In- criminating documents were withheld until after the 1996 elec- tionÐin one case, for more than a year. The White House refused to respond for months to repeated requests for documents and in- formation. Most significantly, when called before the committee to explain the withholding of documents, Deputy Counsel to the Presi- dent Cheryl Mills chose to give demonstrably false testimony. This matter has been referred to the Department of Justice for inves- tigation of possible perjury