President Clinton used the brightly lit stage of a presidential press conference Thursday to applaud OPEC’s decision to increase oil production, urge oil companies to pass savings on to consumers, and plead with Congress to seek ways to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil.
Expansive in his latest marathon session, a professorial Clinton touched on everything from China’s bid to enter the world trading system to a judge’s finding that Clinton personally violated a privacy statute. But the most pressing political matter confronting the White House, the rising price of oil, prompted an expression of concern, some suggested remedies and a prediction that prices will drop.
“We shouldn’t minimize the real bind that some Americans have already faced by these high fuel costs,” Clinton said. “There are a lot of Americans who do have to drive a long way to work, who work for not very much money, and there are a lot of Americans who are in the trucking business who have been really, really hurt by this.”
OPEC’s decision does not mean the crisis is over, Clinton added. “I think we just have to keep our powder dry, keep our options open,” he said. The president also repeated his objection to the call from some Republicans to suspend the federal gasoline tax to ease the burden on consumers.
“I’m not sure that the savings would be passed along to the consumers,” Clinton said.
With only 10 months left in his term, Clinton hasn’t given up his bully pulpit. With his personal choice for president, Vice President Al Gore, on track for the Democratic nomination, Clinton is seeking to maintain a booming U.S. economy.
He urged lawmakers to extend his authority, which expires Friday, to use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, though he so far hasn’t indicated that he would use his powers to open up the nation’s oil stockpile. The petroleum reserve is intended for use in a national emergency.
Clinton emphasized that the nation should refocus on developing alternative fuels and building domestic oil sources–concepts he said receive little attention when oil prices are low. “I hope very much that this is a little bit of a wake-up call for all of us, and that we can put this on the front burner and get some action,” Clinton said.
Clinton seemed relaxed during the press conference, often becoming philosophical and providing unusually long answers. When White House spokesman Joe Lockhart sought to end the press conference, which lasted 1 hour and 10 minutes, Clinton took an additional question about fossil fuels and went on at some length about “the fuel-to-biofuel conversion problem.” He even responded amiably to pointed questions about White House scandals, without the jaw tightening that had long accompanied his responses on such topics.
It seemed again as though Clinton does not want to leave the presidential stage, as he acknowledged at one point. Speaking of his daughter, Chelsea, he said, “She’s like Hillary and me. All three of us, I think, want to savor the weeks and months we have ahead in this, our last year.”
If there was any issue that animated Clinton as much as high oil prices, it was China’s crusade to enter the global trading system. Clinton is trying to persuade Congress to upgrade U.S. trade relations with the vast nation, but many in Congress object because of China’s poor record on human rights and because they believe the move would harm U.S. workers.
Clinton seized the opportunity to make his case, arguing that all concessions would be made by China if Congress signs off on the deal.
“The United States doesn’t lower any tariffs, we don’t change any trade laws, we do nothing,” Clinton said. “This is a 100-to-nothing deal for America.”
Clinton also blasted Congress for not passing stronger gun-control measures. “It appears the opponents of reform have run out of arguments, so now they’re trying to run out the clock,” Clinton said.
And he took on the highly sensitive issue of Elian Gonzalez, the 6-year-old boy who was picked up at sea after his mother drowned trying to escape from Cuba.
Miami Mayor Alex Penelas suggested Wednesday that if Elian is forcibly taken from his family to be returned to Cuba, and Miami erupts in violence as a result, Clinton and Atty. Gen. Janet Reno would be to blame.
Clinton urged everyone involved to obey the law. “I like the mayor very much, but I still believe in the rule of law,” Clinton said. “Whatever the law is, whatever the decision that is ultimately made [by the courts], the rest of us ought to obey it.”
Clinton faced several questions on ethics issues. A federal judge found Wednesday that the president knowingly violated the Privacy Act by releasing letters from former White House volunteer Kathleen Willey shortly after she accused Clinton of fondling her in a White House hallway.
Willey appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes” in the midst of the Monica Lewinsky investigation to recount an alleged sexual assault by Clinton in 1993. The White House, attempting to cast doubt on her story, responded the next day by turning over to the press friendly, chatty letters that Willey had written Clinton after the alleged incident.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth found that in authorizing release of the letters, Clinton had willfully violated the Privacy Act. “The White House and president were aware that they were subject to the Privacy Act and yet chose to violate its provisions,” Lamberth wrote. “The president had the requisite intent for committing a criminal violation of the Privacy Act.”
Clinton rebutted the judge’s legal analysis, saying the Willey letters are not the kind of government records covered by the act and denying any intent to violate the law. Intent is a necessary component of a Privacy Act violation.
“I didn’t even have any conversation with anybody about the Privacy Act,” he said. “I never thought about it, never thought about whether it applied or not, and decided to do it only reluctantly, because it was the only way I knew to refute the allegations that were made against me that were untrue.”
Lamberth, who has overseen several high-profile cases involving the White House, made his ruling on a case that has nothing to do with Willey. The conservative group Judicial Watch is suing the White House over its handling of FBI files, and, as part of the case, Lamberth allowed Judicial Watch to explore whether the Clinton White House has shown a pattern of misusing information on political opponents, including Willey.
