(4 of 5)
That was easier said than done. The Whitewater documents McDougal wanted were among the files Webb Hubbell, a former Rose partner who now served as Deputy Attorney General, had taken out of the Rose firm. They'd since been moved from Hubbell's home in Little Rock to his basement in Washington. Others were in Foster's White House office. No one seems to have questioned the removal of documents that belonged to the Rose firm without so much as leaving copies behind. The First Lady had recently asked that one of those files, containing material about Bill Clinton's natural father and whether Bill Clinton had an illegitimate half brother, be removed and returned to her. Foster was at Hubbell's home the evening Hubbell looked for those files, and Foster helped Hubbell move some boxes in the basement to get to them. While the contents of those files have never been publicly identified, they appear to have contained many of the Whitewater papers, including correspondence with 1st Ozark about the loan renewals and the Clintons' personal financial statements and loan applications, as well as billing records from the Rose firm. (Indeed, these appear to be the records discovered last January in the White House, suggesting that they got there either by way of Hubbell's basement or Foster's office.)
Despite McDougal's call, none of these materials were returned to him. If Foster was worried about the potential of any of these documents to generate further controversy for the Clintons, he didn't mention it to Hubbell. Yet it is clear that Foster had access to as full a set of records of the Whitewater affair as anyone. Given what the materials contained--the evidence of McDougal's subsidies, the active role of Hillary, the questionable valuations on personal financial statements--he must have realized that in the hands of someone as unpredictable as McDougal, there was the potential for further great embarrassment, at the least.
During these weeks, Foster was acting as though anything could backfire and erupt into scandal. He seemed to be fearful that his phone calls might be tapped or recorded, telling Hubbell on various occasions that "I would like to talk to you, but I don't want to talk to you over the phone," or, "I'm not sure I can talk to you over the phone about this, but we will talk next time we get together in person."
On July 20, an assistant brought Foster his lunch--a hamburger and some M&M's--and he ate at his desk while reading the paper. When he finished, he left the office, mentioning to the aide, "There are lots of M&M's left in there. I'll be back.'' He had his suit jacket slung over his shoulder but wasn't carrying his briefcase. It was about 1 p.m.
At about 5 p.m., Lisa Foster called the office, asking for Vince. He's "unavailable," Deborah Gorham told her. Lisa didn't give Vince's unavailability much thought. They were going out that night, a "date," as she thought of it, that she'd proposed the night before. Maybe he was on his way home. By 7 p.m. there was still no sign of Vince, so Lisa called his office again. He wasn't there, but she learned that the President was about to appear on Larry King Live. She figured her husband must have gone to watch the show with people from the White House. She and her daughter Laura went upstairs and turned on the TV.