They travel alongside their commercial TV colleagues, wearing civilian clothes to blend in. Their recordings are cataloged and sent to the National Archives and presidential libraries. After congressional investigators asked for any videotapes of Clinton's gatherings with contributors, WHCA staff searched for donors' names on a computerized index and found none. Over the past two weeks, the tapes have been collected, dubbed onto videocassettes and turned over to Congress and the Justice Department. A day before they appeared, she had said all available evidence showed no sign of illegal fund-raising by Clinton.
Crews generally film only snippets of presidential events for posterity before exiting.
On many of the fund-raising tapes, Clinton is shown delivering brief remarks and shaking hands for a few moments, but the entire event is not recorded. WHCA was created during World War II to keep President Franklin Roosevelt in touch with his military commanders. Over the years, it has taken on more responsibilities, including maintaining the historical record of the presidency. The agency helped document the death of President Kennedy and, later, the attempts to kill Presidents Ford and Reagan.