THE WHITE HOUSE                      Office of the Press Secretary _____________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release                                  April 20, 1993                               PRESS BRIEFING                        BY GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS  	                                The Briefing Room   12:36 P.M. EDT 	      	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  As you know, the President is going  to come out at 1:15 p.m.  With your indulgence, I think what we'd  like to do is have the President award the National Teacher's Award  first and then have the teacher leave, or whatever, and then he'll  make a statement on Waco and take a couple questions.  So if we can  just hold off going live and all that until that's done, it probably  will work out a lot better.  	      	     Q	  If you'll give us the time.  That's the problem. 	      	     Q	  We've got a two-minute warning problem. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes, it is a problem.  It's about  1:15 p.m. 	      	     Q	  The teacher would walk off and then -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that's -- I'm just trying  to work this out here.  I think that's the best way to handle it. 	      	     Q	  Can I ask you a series of questions about the way  the President handled the notifications yesterday?  	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Sure. 	      	     Q	  Did you, for instance, talk to the Justice  Department about who would come out and discuss what had happened in  Waco and whether it should be the Attorney General or the President? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Why don't we just take a step even  farther back from that and look at the whole sequence of events on  the contact between the Justice Department and the White House.  As  you know and as we've said, the President spoke with the Attorney  General on Sunday, Sunday afternoon.  They had a good discussion,  about 15 minutes.  The Attorney General informed the President of  what she wanted to do.  He raised no objections.  Obviously, she had  the implicit authority from the President to go forward.  He raised  no objections.  She went forward.  They had a discussion of a general  nature about the incident. 	      	     Again, yesterday morning around 11:00 a.m., the  President spoke with the Attorney General again.  They had a brief  discussion over what was happening in Waco.  As you know, this was  before the fire broke out at the compound.  And I think that was why  there was some -- just some confusion.  I think that she was  confusing in her minds before and after the fire, not the actual day  when they spoke.   	      	     Then there was a number of contacts at a number of  different levels in the White House yesterday afternoon between the  Justice Department and the White House.  They were informing us of   their decisions, what they would like to do.  There was an FBI  briefing in Waco.  The Attorney General had her press conference.   The President then issued a statement after that. 	      	     Frankly, yesterday afternoon, you know, there was a fair  amount of confusion over exactly what was happening on the ground in  Waco, and I think that we wanted to be very careful not to have the  President say anything until we had a much better sense of what was  actually happening on the ground.  Once we were fairly clear on what  was happening on the ground in Waco, the President issued a  statement.  He spoke with the Attorney General again yesterday  evening. 	      	     Q	  At what hour was that? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It was quite late.  I believe it  was after he returned from the Holocaust Museum.  He took a tour of  the Holocaust Museum last night. 	      	     Q	  And he went out to dinner. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I believe briefly.  Yes, he went to  dinner and then he spoke with the Attorney General last night.  I  don't know the exact time; I think it was relatively late.  And he  just said, I think as Dee Dee has reported, that he just wanted to  tell her that he thought she handled a difficult situation very well,  that she did a good job in a tough situation, and that she should try  and get some sleep.  He then, again, spoke with her this morning  about the follow-up in Waco, and about what they're going to do this  afternoon.  As you know, the President will have an announcement to  make at 1:15. 	      	     Q	  Did he ever talk with Webb Hubbell yesterday, last  night, or this morning? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not to my knowledge, no. 	      	     Q	  Was Webb Hubbell the point man for the White House? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Webb Hubbell is the general White  House Liaison and several people talked to Webb.  The Attorney  General was running the operation. 	      	     Q	  Did he tell her that she should sleep well, that  she had done a good job?  Or he just tell her that she should get  some sleep? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think sleep well -- done a good  job -- I don't know the exact words.  I think that sounds right. 	      	     Q	  I mean, sleep well has implications as to  conscience and whether she should feel badly about it or not. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, I mean, I think everybody  feels badly when you have a situation when -- 	      	     Q	  I understand that, but whether the issue of blame  is brought up in that phraseology. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that's the spirit -- no, it  has nothing to do with that.  The spirit with which it was offered  was that the entire administration and certainly the Attorney General  had to face a very difficult decision, a very difficult situation  yesterday.  And that he thought that she had handled it well, as best  as she could and -- 	      	     Q	  Well, does he think it was mishandled?  	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  -- it was just speaking of warm  words to a friend. 	      	     Q	  Does he think the situation was mishandled? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President -- 	      	     Q	  In retrospect? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President stands  by the  decisions of the law enforcement agencies, the decisions of the  Attorney General.  He accepts full responsibility.  At the same time,  I think that we all want to look to the future and figure out what  exactly happened, do a full review, and make sure we do what we can  to make sure this doesn't happen -- this kind of thing doesn't happen  again, or at least we know how to handle it. 	      	     Q	  How much did he know about what she was going to go  ahead with?  I know that she made the case to him -- explained -- outlined the case for action.  Did she say to him on Sunday precisely  what action? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't think it was specific  operational detail as to what was going to happen.  I think that they  had a general discussion about the action, about the advisability of  action.  I think, as she noted, he asked a few general questions just  trying to get a sense of how things were considered.  But it wasn't  minute-by-minute detail of how the operation -- 	      	     Q	  Well, was it, "we are going in."  Is it, "we're  going to use tear gas"?  I mean, what? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I believe it was that we want to go  in and take some action that would increase the pressure on those in  the compound, and hopefully spur them towards some sort of movement  out. 	      	     Q	  George, was there ever a conscious political  decision made, or even a discussion about distancing the President  from -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not at all.  I mean, we were in  close contact with the Justice Department.  The President accepts  responsibility for this.  At the same time -- I mean, we just wanted  to be very, very clear about how this happened and be as factual as  we could be on how the decisions were made.  It is the responsibility  of those on the ground to make recommendations.  The Attorney General  has operational control over this.  The President obviously accepts  responsibility for all of this, and he stands by the Attorney  General. 	      	     Q	  George, there was a report on the television today  -- and I don't know more than that -- one of the members of the cult  had said going into a courthouse that the FBI had started the fire  and not themselves.  There was also a picture yesterday on the TV of  a smashing into the building  where the fire broke out.  And my  question is, is the White House absolutely certain that this fire was  -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  All the evidence we have is that  this fire was started by David Koresh and those inside the compound  -- every bit of evidence we have. 	      	     Q	  Did the President ask the Attorney General why do  this now, why this particular date, and did he ask about possible  consequences of either death or injury?  	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know the specific  questions.  He had general questions about how the decision was going  about being made. 	      	     Q	  Those are general questions and did he ask  generally, why now? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think he asked, have you  considered all of the consequences; have you considered the  recommendations?  I don't know if he asked the question, "why now?  "   I don't know if he asked that specific question. 	      	     Q	  Did she tell him why now in terms of the stuff  that's come out since then about the information provided by the  listening device about Koresh getting increasingly more violent? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, I'm not certain how much  specific detail they got into.  I know that she generally said that  this is the recommendation she's prepared to make, I mean, the  decision she's prepared to make.  It's based on the recommendations  she was receiving from the field and after intensive questioning of  those involved.  Again, I do not know how precisely detailed it was  beyond that. 	      	     Q	  What is the President's understanding why  yesterday?  One of the people who went into the compound a couple  weeks ago came out over the weekend with some speculation that he may  have told law enforcement people something that precipitated this  action.  Why yesterday? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  This is the first I've heard.  I  think what we can go to is what the FBI and the Attorney General has  said.  There were indications that those inside the compound were at  some danger.  It was clear that the negotiations had broken down and  it was the judgment of the experts involved in the negotiations that  the situation was not going to get any better at all.   	      	     There was also some concern over the vulnerability of  the agents themselves who had been working long beyond the time that  these teams normally have to work.  And as the Attorney General has  said, there was some concern over the fact that they did not have  replacements in place who could stand in for them, and there was a  concern over the safety.   	      	     All of these factors came into play.  They also  considered the advice of a number of psychologists and other experts  on David Koresh and those in the compound.  I would just go back to  what the Attorney General has said.  You have to make the best  judgment you can, given the information you have at the time.  They  did.  Obviously, we all regret the loss of life.  It's a terribly  unfortunate situation.  We all wish it could have turned out  differently, but that doesn't take away from the judgments that were  made at the time. 	      	     Q	  George, when did the President know that they were  going to use tear gas?  Was it before the assault on the compound? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I just don't know.  I don't believe  he was given a lot of detail on exactly how the operation would go.   I just don't know. 	      	     Q	  Along that point, George, can you say whether the  plan was presented to the President by the Attorney General as a way  to end the standoff one way or the other yesterday? 	       	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think it was presented as a way  to increase the pressure on those in the compound and, we all hoped,  as a way to move some of those out and bring it in -- it wasn't  presented as tomorrow is D-Day, this is it. 	      	     Q	  Is the President satisfied that, A, he had all this  relevant information necessary to make a decision, and B, that Janet  Reno had all the relevant information necessary to make a decision? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Oh, I think he's satisfied that  they were acting on the best advice and the best information they  had, and he's not second-guessing it in any way whatsoever. 	      	     Q	  George, was there a 12-hour gap between  conversations between the President and the Attorney General?  In  other words, they spoke at 11:00 a.m. and they didn't speak again  until Clinton got back from dinner at -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that's likely, yes. 	      	     Q	  Did he call her?  What time did she call?  Was  there a gap between when she called him?  I mean, was he at dinner  when she called and -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, no, no.  I think he called her  last night.  I couldn't swear to it, but I believe he called her last  night.  He just wanted to talk to her. 	      	     Q	     what was going on? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not that I know of, no. 	      	     Q	  What do you know about the situation now?  Everyone  has perished who -- except eight or nine?  And do you know any of the  other details? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know any more details than  the FBI reported in Waco. 	      	     Q	     watching CNN or how was he keeping track of what  is going on?  If he wasn't talking to his Attorney General, how was  he keeping track of what was going on here?  I mean, with all due  respect to CNN, is that how he was doing it? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No.  There was also -- as I said,  several people in the White House were in constant contact with their  counterparts at Justice to have the full and complete information. 	      	     Q	  Who were those contacts?  I mean, was it Mack  McLarty, Webb Hubbell?  How was the President being kept informed?   That's not a -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I believe Mack was in contact with  Webb.  I spoke with several people at the Justice Department.  I  believe Bruce Lindsey spoke with people at the Justice Department.   Either Bernie or Vince was also in contact at different times during  the day with people at the Justice Department.  We were fully briefed  and fully informed. 	      	     Q	  We were told this morning that the President may  have spoken -- a chance that he may have spoken with Webb.  Do you  know if that's true or not? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think there's a chance he may  have.  I don't believe he did, but I think there's certainly a chance  that he may have at some point.  I don't believe he did.  I think  that the last contact he had during the day yesterday directly with   the Justice Department was the 11:00 a.m. phone call with the  Attorney General.  But the White House was fully informed on a  minute-to-minute basis of what was happening in Waco and what was  happening at the Justice Department. 	      	     Q	  George, who decided that the briefing would be done  by the Attorney General? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The Attorney General. 	      	     Q	  Did you or did the White House communications staff  -- were you ever involved with that decision? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No.  We were told about it. 	      	     Q	  Did you ask her to go on Nightline and MacNeil- Lehrer and all that stuff?  Was that part of -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No. 	      	     Q	     there was no advice from the White House at all  about her -- she was on all night, all day.  (Laughter.) 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes, and she did a very good job.  	      	     Q	  Why did you decide to have the President's reaction  to the situation be only a written statement, which is traditionally  the White House's way of distancing the President from the issue, not  having him appear as personally saying anything? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, that wasn't the intent at  all.  As I said, we had to -- we wanted to wait until we had all of  the information at hand.  The President is also making a statement  today.  The President made a statement yesterday morning.  The  President has been fully involved -- 	      	     Q	  After this turned into less than a successful  operation, the only statement from the President was what was on  paper after the Attorney General had already given what amounted to  the major facts in this. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, it was the first statement  from the President, not the only statement from the President, number  one.   	      	     Q	  After the -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Number two -- well, the first.   Number two, the Attorney General -- 	      	     Q	  He gave a statement early in the morning when the  thing was starting to move -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Right.  And he gave one yesterday  and he's giving one today.  Now, the second point -- 	      	     Q	  It just happens this was a written statement with  no sort of communications policy or thought process involved?  It was  the President wants to put out a written statement? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Knowing what we knew at the time,  we thought it was appropriate for the President and he thought it was  appropriate to put out a written statement expressing his regret and  expressing his support for the Attorney General's -- 	      	     Q	  Why was it not appropriate for him to personally do  something?  	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, he did personally do so.   That is his statement.  It's a statement under his name. 	      	     Q	  George, yesterday during the briefing you didn't  say the President took full responsibility for what happened -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I certainly did. 	      	     Q	  No, what you said was -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  That's just not right, Susan. 	      	     Q	  Well, I think you can go back to the transcript, I  mean, unless I miss something -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'd love to. 	      	     Q	     Janet Reno said that she took full  responsibility and you said that she made the decision, that the FBI  -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  And the President takes  responsibility.  Absolutely. 	      	     Q	  Took responsibility -- all right. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Check the transcript. 	      	     Q	  Considering how little was known about what was  going on inside the compound and, even now, how little is known, why  is Washington calling this a mass suicide? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, I think that knowing what we  know now and given all of the actions of David Koresh before and  during, it is painfully clear that those there were under his  control. 	      	     Q	  It's stretching it a little bit where the kids are  concerned, though, isn't it, George? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that that is an entirely  different matter.  I mean, I think that David Koresh must bear  responsibility for the deaths of those children, absolutely.  But he  clearly was intent on creating some kind of an apocalyptic incident,  and that's what he did. 	      	     Q	  You're still operating completely on assumption,  right?  I mean, you have no evidence, or you know of no evidence that  this was mass suicide. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We have evidence that those inside  the compound set fire to the compound, which led to the deaths of  those inside. 	      	     Q	  I didn't quite hear it.  This might be Ann's  question, I didn't quite hear it.  But at what time did Clinton  himself put out a statement on this?  I know Dee Dee said some stuff  on this at 6:00 p.m., but the President put out -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  At 6:35 p.m., 6:40 p.m. 	      	     Q	  Right after the evening news went on the air? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, right when we had all the  information.  We were working on it. 	       	     Q 	  Dee Dee confirmed this morning that the  investigation the President is going to announce is going to be an  administration-run investigation.  Why not have someone from the  outside to make sure that it's not colored by those who would have a  political stake, particularly those at the ATF whose actions have  already been -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think that clearly the ATF and  the Justice Department will bear responsibility for the  investigation.  That's not to rule out, as is often in investigations  like this, having some sort of independent involvement as well.  But  it will be run by the Treasury and Justice.  	      	     Q	  Are you confident that you will not have any  problem getting -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Absolutely. 	      	     Q	  George, did the President reach out to anybody else  to get advice after the meeting with Janet Reno?  And who else in the  White House sat in on that meeting?  Anyone else from Justice? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't believe anybody else was  there at the time.  It was a phone call on Monday, it wasn't a  meeting. 	      	     Q	  Sunday. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Sunday.  It was a phone call, it  wasn't a meeting.  I believe he might have been there with Bruce, but  beyond that, I think he just talked to the Attorney General. 	      	     Q	  George, you said that in that phone call, she said  that we want to go in and take action, as you said, that will force  him out.  What did he think she was talking about?  If he didn't know  about tear gas, what exactly was his idea of what he was approving? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think he was approving an action  to increase the pressure on -- 	      	     qQ	   It didn't matter how she did that? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No, no.  I mean -- 	      	     Q	  What information did he have in terms of how this  would proceed?  Presumably he would have wanted to know, not minute- by-minute, but in a general sense -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think he knew that this was the  recommendation of those on the ground and the recommendation of the  law enforcement agencies.  I just don't know -- 	      	     Q	  What is "this" -- when you say that "this" was the  recommendation -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The action to increase pressure.  I  don't know exactly what he was told -- whether he was going to be  told that the tank was going to go up to the left wall and punch a  hole in the window, or whether he was just told generally that they  were moving forward in a way that would increase the pressure.  I  just don't know. 	      	     Q	  It's hard to imagine him not asking, though. 	      	     Q	     that Janet Reno presented him with as her best  advice about what they should go forward with, he would have agreed? 	       	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  He was -- he did ask some general  questions about the advice and recommendation he gave.  At the same  time -- and I would repeat -- that this was based on the unanimous  recommendation of the law enforcement agencies involved. 	      	     Q	  George, it would seem that this question about just  exactly in what detail the President was informed about the nature of  the operation is going to come up again here and elsewhere.  Can you  take that question and -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Absolutely.  Yes. 	      	     Q	     get the answer and come back to us with all of  it? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes. 	      	     Q	  Can you tell us that there was never a meeting -- a  strategy session -- where you and others decided, we will put out a  written statement from the President and we will have Janet Reno be  on all of these television broadcasts? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Never.  Never. 	      	     Q	  And you never called the Justice Department and  said to anyone or Janet Reno, "you're the one who needs to be out  front explaining this"? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not once. 	      	     Q	  It just happened that way that she was the  spokesman, that no one ever saw Bill Sessions until -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  She made a decision as Attorney  General that it was important for her as the operational officer in  charge, as the person who made the decision, to go out and take the  questions on this tragic incident. 	      	     Q	  She had no guidance from the White House at all? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We certainly didn't object. 	      	     Q	  But did you -- (laughter) -- no, I'm sure you  didn't object, but did you suggest it?  Was this a plan -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No. Absolutely not. 	      	     Q	     a strategy? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No. 	      	     Q	  Did she clear it?   	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No. 	      	     Q	  Did she notify you? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  We certainly knew about it. 	      	     Q	  What happened to this great detailed process you  have for clearing and talking to every public information officer and  every -- under every rock and every place in government that  something as major as this could have occurred without a discussion  between you and the public information people at least at the Justice  Department? 	       	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The Attorney General made the  decision and the Attorney General wanted to go forward.  It seemed  like a good decision.  It was a good decision.  She did a good job. 	      	     Q	  Let me ask it this way, George, if in hindsight how  you would handle it? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think it was handled very well. 	      	     Q	  You wouldn't change a thing if -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Change what? 	      	     Q	  The way the White House handled any part of it --  from start to finish. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, I think that's an awful broad  question and we're certainly going to have a review.  One of the  reasons for the investigation is to look for ways in the future that  something like this -- see what we can learn from an incident like  this and see what we can learn about how to handle them.  If you're  talking specifically about the issue of the press conferences, no,  there -- wouldn't make any change at all. 	      	     Q	  Two questions:  First of all, on her going on TV,  no White House people or outside media consultants came up with this  idea?  It's just very reminiscent of what you guys did during the  campaign. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  How so? 	      	     Q	  I'm thinking of like watching Clinton on Nightline  after the draft story; watching Clinton on -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  There's absolutely no comparison.   Yesterday there was a law enforcement incident.  The incident ended  in tragic deaths of many, many people.  The Attorney General was  involved in that decision.  The Attorney General made the decision to  do that.  She felt it was her responsibility in the interest of  public information to go out and take the questions of the press in  order to make sure that all of the questions were answered, and she  did a fantastic job. 	      	     Q	  The second question is, did -- as someone who knows  Clinton as well as you do, can you understand why it's sort of hard  to believe that he might not have asked some detailed questions about  what she intended to do?  In other words, she came and she said, I'm  going to put pressure on them.  It's hard not to see Clinton, who's  fairly intelligent and inquisitive, asking how. 	      	     Q	  What kind? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Both the Attorney General said that  he did ask questions, he did ask general questions.  I don't have a  minute-by-minute account of the conversation. 	      	     Q	  How long a conversation? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think it was about 15 minutes. 	      	     Q	  Telephone conversation? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes. 	      	     Q	  George, was the federal cost of this standoff ever  a consideration in terms of stepping up the pressure -- 	       	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't believe so, no. 	      	     Q	  George, you keep saying that the President takes  full responsibility, but then you refer to it as her decision.  Does  the President not accept the fact that as Commander-In-Chief, it is  ultimately his decision? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know what this has to do  with Commander-In-Chief.  This was a law enforcement action, not a  military action.  And he clearly takes responsibility for the  decisions of the law enforcement agencies involved taken in his  government.  I mean, I think there's just no ambiguity about that. 	      	     Q	  But is he accepting it as his decision as well as  hers, or is he saying it's her decision?  There's a difference. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  As a matter of fact, it was her  decision.  He did not object to that decision.  He clearly takes full  responsibility.  	      	     Q	  George, this briefing has gone on just a little  over 15 minutes, and as you can see a lot of things can be exchanged.   What exactly did they spend 15 minutes talking about if it was just  very general?  That's a long period of time in a phone conversation. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  It is an awful long phone  conversation.  It was a very important phone conversation.  I think  Brit has asked that we take the question, and I've said that I would. 	      	     Q	  One of the things Reno said last night is that the  buck stops here.  I think that was her direct quotation.  Does the  President agree with that in this case? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  The President says he accepts full  responsibility.  I think what the Attorney General was saying is that  she made a decision, that she's going to accept all the  responsibility that comes to her.  And she's not shrinking from that  at all, but neither is the President.  	      	     Q	  At any point in the conversation last night between  the President and the Attorney General or this morning, did she ever  offer her a resignation? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not to my knowledge.  	      	     Q	  Even before the fire was out yesterday, there were  some Republicans on Capitol Hill calling for an investigation.  Is  the White House at all concerned about the timing of those requests  trying to make political hay out of this situation? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No.  And I don't want to cast any  questions about the motives of those who are requesting  investigation.  We want an investigation, and we'll have a full and  complete investigation. 	      	     Q	  In what forum will you answer Brit's question?   Will you put out a written statement?  Will you -- the wires?  How  will you answer the question that you've taken? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'm just not sure. 	      	     Q	  George, can you remind us what the President was  doing all yesterday afternoon, where he was, and what meetings he was  involved in? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I'll have to try and remember.  He  had a series of meetings with different members of the staff during   the afternoon.  He was certainly monitoring the situation in Waco and  getting periodic reports on that as well.  He did see some on CNN as  well.  I believe he saw a fair amount of the FBI press briefing as  well. 	      	     Q	  And those reports would have come to him from Mack  McLarty, would they -- do you think? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Mack talked to him, Bruce talked to  him, I talked to him. 	      	     Q	  George, to follow Helen's question, in their  conversation this morning did they discuss at all her statement last  night in response to the question about whether she would resign?   Did he say, I don't know why you felt the need to say that?  I'm here  to reassure you that you don't have to do this?  Did that come up at  all? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know if it even came up  that specifically.  I know that the bulk of the conversation was  discussing where do we go from here and what form the investigation  -- 	      	     Q	   The didn't talk at all about her kind of  remarkable comment last night about -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Well, I believe she was asked a  question. 	      	     Q	  And her response was, if the President wants me to,  I will. 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Which would be, I think, the  standard response that most Cabinet members would give.  I mean, it's  a conditional statement. 	      	     Q	     have a need to talk about whether -- personally  about whether the President wanted her -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know if they talked about  it.  I mean, what I learned about the conversation was that it was  largely about the investigation itself.  And this just didn't come  up.  I did not ask the question if they talked about -- 	      	     Q	  Will you take that with the Brit package? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Certainly.  (Laughter.) 	      	     Q	  George, for the record, does the President want her  to resign?  I know Dee Dee answered this morning -- 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Absolutely not.  He supports Janet  Reno.  She's a good Attorney General.  She's done a good job.  She  handled a difficult situation extremely well. 	      	     Q	  George, does the President feel that he and Janet  Reno were let down by the unanimous professional advice from the law  enforcement experts on the ground? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  No.  And the President is not  second-guessing that decision and those recommendations in any way.   That is not to say that he doesn't regret the loss of life.   Everybody regrets the loss of life in this situation.  But the best  judgments were made in a difficult situation based on the best  information we had. 	       	     Q	  George, the 15-minute conversation was the one on  Sunday, is that correct? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Yes. 	      	     Q	  How long was the one at 11:00 a.m. yesterday  morning? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I don't know.  I'll take that  question, too. 	      	     Q	  Were these outside experts that they were  consulting with, or experts within the ATF and the FBI? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  You'd have to ask them.  I'm just  not sure.  I know that there were several experts. 	      	     Q	  And also, why weren't there replacements for these  people?  Is the unit that small?   	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Again, I think it is a very small  highly-specialized unit.  But I think it's one of the kinds of things  that the investigation will examine. 	      	     Q	  George, isn't there a factor here involving the FBI  Director?  Normally, a president, when he wants to get information,  doesn't only asks the Attorney General.  I know the chain of command.   But presidents talk to their FBI directors.  In this case, throughout  this entire siege, he has not felt that he could pick up the phone  and talk to Bill Sessions, who is from Waco, and get expertise from  him on what to do and what not to do? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  I think he talked to the FBI  Director well in the beginning of the situation when it first broke  out in Waco.  At the same time, the Attorney General bears the  ultimate responsibility and he was getting fully briefed from the  Attorney General. 	      	     Q	  Don't you think the ambiguous situation that  Director Sessions is in has some impact on the way the President is  briefed and on the way that all of this evolved? 	      	     MR. STEPHANOPOULOS:  Not at all.  I mean, it's perfectly  appropriate that he be briefed by the Attorney General and that the  Attorney General has supervisory authority over the FBI Director, and  that's following the chain of command. 	      	     THE PRESS:  Thank you .                                   END                    1:03 P.M. EDT