I made mistakes from ignorance, inexperience and overwork I did not knowingly violate any law or standard of conduct No one in The White House, to my knowledge, violated any law or standard of conduct, including any action in the travel office. There was no intent to benefit any individual or specific group The FBI lied in their report to the AG The press is covering up the illegal benefits they received from the travel staff The GOP has lied and misrepresented its knowledge and role and covered up a prior investigation The Ushers Office plotted to have excessive costs incurred, taking advantage of Kaki and HRC The public will never believe the innocence of the Clintons and their loyal staff The WSJ editors lie without consequence I was not meant for the job or the spotlight of public life in Washington. Here ruining people is considered sport
An Independent Forensic Examination Of a Torn Note Allegedly Written by Vincent W. Foster, Jr. Prepared for Strategic Investment James Dale Davidson, Editor 25 October 1995
Page 1 Statement of James Dale Davidson
Page 3 Biography of Vincent J. Scalice
Page 4 Biography of R.E. Alton
Page 5 Biography of Ronald H. Rice
Page 18 Transcript of Torn Note
Page 19 Photocopy of Torn Note(Q1)
Page 20 Photocopy of Park Police examplar(K1)
Page 23 Photocopy of notes written by Foster relating to the Whitewater partnership(K3-12)
October 25, 1995
For More Info Contact: Anne Dunne 410-576-0900
EXPERTS SAY FOSTER "SUICIDE" NOTE IS A FORGERY
At a press conference this morning at Washington's Willard Hotel, James Dale Davidson announced the findings of an international panel of forensic panel (sic) who examined a copy of a note that was found in Foster's briefcase shortly after his death.
The panel of three forensic handwriting experts have determined that the note is a forgery, and not written by the late Deputy White House Counsel.
James Dale Davidson, Editor of Strategic Investment, a premier world financial newsletter, offered the following statement today:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Strategic Investment has asked a forensic panel of handwriting experts to examine the so-called "suicide" note, said to have been written by the late Vincent Foster.
The panel's conclusions were collected over a three month period. Each panelist worked independently and came to their own conclusions without interference.
They completed their study with far greater care, thoroughness, and apparent accuracy than the federal institutions that were intended to protect us. It is indeed ironic, that Vincent Foster, as the number two lawyer in the White House and one of the highest ranking law enforcement officials in this land--would have his own death covered up.
The fabrication of a "suicide" note by high officials, is just one more indication that Vincent Foster did not commit suicide.
With us today are our expert panel whose reports you have copies of, as well as the torn note, and a set of known documents written by Vincent Foster.
Mr. Reginald E. Alton, from Oxford Univeristy, has flown in for this conference. He is a world-recognized expert on handwriting and manuscript authentication. For 30 years he has lectured at Oxford on handwriting, and has engaged in forensic document examination.
Recently he ruled on the authenticity of C.S. Lewis's Diaries. He has been consulted by British police authorities and has testified in British courts on both criminal and civil matters involving questioned documents.
He has determined the note to be a forgery.
Mr. Vincent Scalice, is formerly a homicide expert with the New York City Police Department. He is a certified Questioned Document Examiner with the American Board of Forensic Examiners. He has 22 years experience as a document examiner, and has worked for some of the countryıs largest institutions in this capacity, for example Citicorp and Chemical Bank.
He has determined the note to be a forgery.
Mr. Ronald Rice has 18 years experience performing civil, criminal and forensic handwriting examination. He is a consultant to the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. He has examined documents on a number of celebrated cases, and recently was asked by CNN to examine notes written by O.J. Simpson.
He too has determined the note to be a forgery.
Three experts--70 years of combined forensic examination experience--conclude forgery.
Both the Park Police and later the FBI determined the note to have been written by Mr. Foster.
But look more closely. The Capitol Police handwriting expert compared the so-called Foster note to only one document--which is not in keeping with a proper and complete examination. We learn today from Mr. Christopher Ruddy, the reporter from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the the Park Police used the services of [a] Sergeant from the Capitol Police who has never been certified as a document examiner.
Later the FBI, and former Special Counsel Robert Fiske reports, found the note to have been written by Foster, again by comparing it to a single document and several checks written by Foster. Like so much of the duplicity in the Fiske report, we learn that the checks proved an inconclusive match to the note. The FBI violated standard forensic procedures to match the document.
Former FBI Director William Sessions has charged that his firing the day before Foster's death led to a "compromised" investigation into the death. Political considerations have guided Foster's death investigation from the beginning. Allegedly, in America, no one is above the law. But the investigations, by the Park Police, Fiske, and the Beltway insider Kenneth Starr, show that the law applies differently to different people.
We at Strategic Investment believe that the evidence in this case overwhelmingly points to murder. It is a threat to the credibility of America's justice system that possible obstruction of justice by the Park Police and the FBI is whitewashed.
The following is the resumes of the three experts that determined that the Vince Foster suicide note was a forgery.
Vincent J. Scalice is a certified Questioned Document Examiner with the American Board of Forensic Examiners. Mr. Scalice began studying handwriting analysis over forty years ago, and for the past 22 years has engaged in forensic document examination as a specility. He has testified in hundreds of court cases on civil and criminal matters (please note this too..) pertaining to questioned documents. He has conducted forensic document examination for some of the nation's largest commerical banks, including Citibank and Chemical Bank.
In 1977, Mr. Scalice retired from the New York City Police Department after 21 years of service as a detective first grade with specialties in Identification, Latent Fingerprint Analysis and Crime Scene reconstruction. Since his retirement he has been Executive Director of Forensic Control Systems of Staten Island, New York. He has served as a Consultant to the House Committee on Assassinations which investigated the deaths of President John Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He currently serves as chairman of the Executive Board of Scientific and technical Advisors for the American Board of Forensic Examiners.
Reginald E. Alton is a world-reconized expert on handwriting examination and manuscript authentication. He has 30 years experience in the field of forensic document examiniation, and has lectured during this period at Oxford University on handwriting and manuscripts, including the detection of forgery and the identification of handwriting to Doctoral and research students in the University of Oxford. In recent years he ruled on charges that some of the manuscripts of the late C.S. Lewis were a forgery. He validated their authenticity. He has ruled on numerous questioned documents and manuscripts, including such noteworthy historical figures as Donne, Shelley, Christina Rossetti, to modern day authors as Oscar Wilde. He has been consulted by civil bodies and by British police authorities and has testified as an expert witness in British courts on criminal matters relating to questioned documents, and has been consulted on anonyous letters and other forgeries.
Mr. Alton, M.C., M.A., is an Emeritus Fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, and is currently Dean of Degrees at St Edmund Hall, Oxford's oldest institution for undergraduates. He was Fellow, Tutor and Vice-Principal of St. Edmund Hall and has served as Chairman of the English faculty, as well as lecturer at Pembroke, Jesus and Exeter Colleges in the Univesity of Oxford.
Ronald H. Rice has 18 years experience performing civil, criminal and forensic handwriting examination. He is a Board Certified Handwriting Examiner and Board Certified Forensic Examiner with the American Board of Forensic Examiners, and a member of the National Association of Document Examiners. He has consulted on numerous civil and criminal cases relating to questioned documents, and has testified in state and federal courts. He is currently under contract with the criminal division of the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. He has examined documents in a number of celebrated cases including handwritten documents by Ted Bundy, the alleged Boston Strangler, Lizzie Borden and recently, documents written/printed by O.J. Simpson for CNN (please note that last one). He has been asked to examine documents for the commanding officer of a U.S. Army Military Police Company in West Germany while on reserve training as well as for the United States Navy Investigative Services while a reserve member of Navel Intelligence, attached to Navel Investigative Services. He also serves as a document consulatant for numerous corporations, major law firms and insurance companies in matters relating to questioned documents.
Mr. Rice is the owner of Checkmate, Inc., D.B.A. New England Legal Investigations, based in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been a private investigator for 13 years and a licensed detective for 20 years. He is the published author of the most comprehensive handwriting examination training course currently available through the American Board of Forensic Examiners and trains people in handwriting examination thoughout the country.
September 6, 1995 Case# 2043 Mr. James D. Davidson Strategic Investment Re: Handwriting Examination & Comparison of Vincent W. Foster Jr. Dear Mr. Davidson: As previously stated, there are numerous marked differences in regard to execution of stroke and invidual letter formations between the Questioned (Q1) note and the known standards (K1 - K10). A random list of some of the more obvious differences is as follows: 1. "Th" formations: There are numerous "Th" letter formations, eighteen (18) in all present in the Questioned note (Q1) which are markedly different from the "Th" formations in the known samples examined. These "Th" letter formations appear in the following words in the Questioned note: "The" "Their" "They" "Without" 2. Word "To" appearing in Questioned, (Q1) differs in execution with To's in Known standards. 3. Marked diffences in all Printed capital letter formations between Questioned & Known. See: A; B; F; G; I; J; N; S; T; U; V & W. 4. Discrepancies in Handwritten capital latter betwen Questioned and Known appear in regard to following: C's H's I's & U's 5. Handwritten small (lower case) letter formations are numerous. Differences are noted in regard to almost all of the individual letter formations throughout. 6. Differences in regard to Handwritten Words include: "did" "for" "not" "the" "to" "Clintons", etc. Please note the forgoing illustrations exhibit only a random sampling of the inconsistences notes througout the Questioned and Known writings examined. It should not be considered all inclusive. Should you require graphic exhibits or charts to further illustrate the inconsistences notes, please provide at least two (2) weeks advance notice to allow sufficient time for preparaton. Respectfully submitted, Vincent J. Scalice Forensic Consultant Document Examiner
October 6, 1995 James D. Davidson Strategic Investment Dear Mr. Davidson: At your request I have examined a photocopy of the Questioned Document said to be written by Vincent W. Foster, Jr., with several photocopied exemplars identified as the known writing of Vincent Foster. Q-1 begins as follows: "I made mistakes from ignorance, inexperience and overwork..." Q-1 was examined and compared with several photocopied examplars. K-1 is a note written by Vincent Foster on June 18, 1993, and is used as the sole examplar by the U.S. Park Police to certify Q-1 as genuine. K-2 is a note written by Vincent Foster on his stationary and dated April 15, 1993. The note is signed. K-3 is a single page document containing notes made by Vincent Foster and found in the U.S. Park Police report. K-4 are documents written by Vincent Foster relating to thru the Whitewater partnership and presented to the Senate's K-10 Special Whitewater committee. K-11 are various notes and documents containing the sign- thru ature of Vincent Foster and found in the U.S. Park k-14 Police report. PURPOSE The purpose of this examination and comparison was to determine whether or not the document in question was actually written by Vincent Foster, Jr. RESULTS As a result of comprehensive and thorough analysis of the Questioned and Known photocopied documents undery varying degrees of magnification, I have arrived at the following determinations: 1. Although some generalized degree of similarity exists between the photocopied questioned document with the known samples furnished, upon closer detailed examin- ation and comparison numerous marked differences have been noted throughout the writtings. 2. Most of the execution, form and style of the writing contained in Q-1 is not consitent with the writings found in K-1 thru K-14. There are numerous inconsis- tencies found througout Q-1 in regard to individual letter formation. Marked differences are noted in execution of stroke and the beginning of letter forma- tions. The document, Q-1, exhibits a style less conti- nous and flowing than the writing contained in the known documents. 3. Based upon the above observation and comparisions of the photocopied documents I have formed the opinion that it is not posssible to state that the questioned document was written by Vincent Foster. The document appears to be a simulation of Foster's writing result- ing in an unsuccessful attempt to produce a credible forgery. ADDITIONAL FINDINGS 1. Q-1 is not consistent with a suicide note. It makes no mention of intentional harm to oneself. There is no signature and no date. Significantly, there is no mention of characteristic statements of departure for loved ones, the putting of affairs in order, or a motive for suicide. THe writer of Q-1 does not give any indication of clinical depression or apparent suicidal tendencies. 2. It is highly doubtful that the missing piece from Q-1 would have contained his signature. 3. Q-1, had it been torn by decedent into 28 pieces, should certainly have left numerous latent print impressions. 4. The use of only K-1 by the U.S. Park Police is not consistent with standard forensic document examination. Police should have obtained independent, additional samples of Vincent Foster's handwritting executed during the normal course of business and from other sources. Normally, in the course of a homicide investigation, it would be improper for police to accept a single document from a family member, and to form an opinion based on same. 5. The use of a single document and a series of checks alleged to have been written by Vincent Foster by The FBI's Questioned Document section is not consistent with standard forensic document examination. 6. Official reports omit any examination by the FBI of a psycholinguistic analysis of Q-1 compared with the known writing of decedent. This omission is serious considering the disjointed statements found in Q-1. 7. The long amount of time before Q-1 was found, and the unusual circumstances of its discovery, should have aroused suspicion that the time may have been used to execute the fraudulent note. Also, the findng of the note in 28 pieces, one piece missing, may indicate an effort was made to further hinder a comparative analysis. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The finding that Q-1 appears to be a forgery, coupled with the additional findings one through seven, are all supporting evidence that a proper homicide investigation is required into the death of Vincent Foster. Should you require additional documentation in the form of grapic exhibits or charts to illustrate the basis for these findings, please notify this office in advance and allow time for preparation. Respectfully submitted, Vincent J. Scalice Forensic Consultant Document Examiner
Telephone: Oxford (01865) 279000 Direct Dial: Oxford (01865) 2790 ... Fax: Oxford (01865) 279090 Report and opinion by Reginald Ernest Alton 1. I have examined photocopies of documents, each consisting of one leaf and foliation l.r., in a different hand from the main body of the document, Q1 and K1 to K12 inclusive. I am satisfied that K1 to K12 inclusive are, apart from foliation and printed or stamped material, all the work of one person who signed K1 and K2. The hand of K1 to K12 inclusive is that of a mature adult and the date of the questioned document Q1 is close enough to the dates of the K group for the latter to be used to determine the authenticity or otherwise of Q1. 2. In my opinion, insofar as it is possible to come to a conclusion from photocopies, Q1 is a forgery related to K1 to K12 inclusive because the forger was using parts of them as a model. 3. The difficulties of this comparative study have been much increased by the fact that Q1 has been torn and apparently crudely and inofficiently repaired. This process, whether deliberate or not, has obscured some of the continuities or discontinuities of the handwriting, and especially the lineation and layout which often, in their uncertainties, betray a forger's eye as it wanders from forgery to model. 4. I have had in mind three axioms: (a) any letter form or ligature used by writers of a language at a given date is available for selection by any writer. Accordingly, the movements of the pen as it makes the letter and the general appearance of a document are of more importance then the presense or absence or even the frequency of individual letter forms; (b) slope, proportion (x - height: space: ascenders and descenders), degree of horizontal or vertical compression, roundness or angularity, pressure, characteristic movements of the hand, and the writing instrument itself all contribute to the general appearance; (c) writers of modern cursive hands can be divided into 'swaggers' and 'archers' 5. Foster seems to have been a natural 'swagger'. He makes a serioes of ninisms e.g. nin (returning K1 1.1), in and w with an even and rhythmic movement through a series of elegant swags. He rarely writes n or h with an arch. The writer of Q1 is aware of this habit but he fails to match Foster's usage or elegance. The incidence of arched n in the first eight lines of Q1 is much higher then in the control documents. It is chracterisitc of a forger that the writer of Q1 gets better at imitating this habit as he or she goes along. 6. The uneven, uneasy and laboured nature of Q1's swags for in can be seen in inexperience (1.1), individual (1.8) and in Clintons (1.17) as compared with what should be an exact match, Clinton's in K9 (1.2). 7. Even more revealing is anouther case which ought to produce an exact match and in Q1 fails to do so; the word benefit, Q1 (1.8 and 1.10) as compared with K11 (1.1) and K10 (1.4). Foster makes initial minuscule b in one stroke (see also based, K10 (1.5)). Q1 takes at least 2, possible 3 strokes to reproduce the shape. In my opinion he is copying K10 for this word but has failed to understand the movements of Foster's pen. 8. In a movement of the hand which is directionally the same as the swags Foster is a habitual writer of counter-clockwise loops or circles. This characteristic is visible in most appearances of the th ligature througout K1 to K12 inclusive. In Q1 the loops in this ligature either do not exist or are a mere thickening of the ascender of h. 9. We see this movement not only in expected places e.g. round-backed looped d (see K1 and K2 and contrast did, lied etc in Q1), but also in unexpected places e.g. a in avoids and answering (K7). In Q1 minuscule a is an awkward 2 stroke letter; in K7 a counter-clockwise loop closes the bowl in one stroke. 10. The writer of Q1 is generally uneasy about joining one ltter to the next e.g. o to l to a in violate (1.3) and especially l to a in the same word (1.6). Contrast c to l to o in enclosed (K1 1.5 and 1.7). This sort of failure is characteristic of forgeries. 11. There is much other detail which could be mentioned e.g. the of ligatures, Q1's failure to understand Foster's majuscule B (K3) and majuscule I and J. 12. In general appearance the hand of the authentic documents K1 to K12 is firm, open, rounded, with a consistent slight backward slope and an easy currency that joins letter to letter with scarcely an interruption to the flow of the hand. This is true whatever the different circumstances in which the K group were written down. In contract the hand of Q1 is slightly but clearly less open (slightly more horizontally compressed); it has an inconsistent slope which, though often ackward in varying degrees, gives in total a more upright appearance than K1 to K12 inclusive; and though it imitates letters and words from the K group it fails to fails to undestand how they are made. R E Alton 18 September 1995
New England Legal Investigations Certified Handwriting and Document Experts 752 Washington Street *Brewster Building PEMBROKE, MA 02359 *TEL: 617-826-3293 FAX: (24 HOURS A DAY) 617-826-9583 Vincent J. Scalice August 30, 1995 Forensic Control Systems 107 Cedarview Avenue Staten Island, New York 10306 HANDWRITING EXAMINER'S REPORT PART I - DOCUMENTS EXAMINED The undersigned Board Certified Handwriting Examiner has examined and studied the following listed documents which you submitted for compar- ison purposes. For the purpose of identification, these documents are listed and referred to as Exhibits K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, K6, K7, K8, K9, K10, Q1. K1. One (1) photocopy of a letter head bearing two lines of professional printing, top center: VINCENT W. FOSTER WASHINGTON, D.C. Document bears fifteen (15) lines of handwritten/handprinted words, letters, numerals, and mark- ings by a minimum of two different people. Lines 1-14 are identified as having been executed by Mr. Foster. First two lines read: erican Exploration Co - I am returning your check no. 04820598 K2. One (1) photocopy of a letter head bearing one line of printing, top center: VINCENT FOSTER JR. Document bears fourteen (14) lines of handprinted/handwritten words, let- ters and numerals by two different people. Lines 1-13 are identified as having been executed by Mr. Foster. Lines 11- 13 read: decision Vince not for Publication K3. One (1) photocopy of four columns of handprinted/handwritten numerals, letters and words by two different people. All printed/writings with the exception of the circled K-3 have been identified as being executed by Mr. Foster. First col- umn reads: 1/80 2/80 3/80 12/83 K4. One (1) photocopy of a paper bearing twenty (20) lines of handwritten/handprinted words, letters, numerals and markings by two different people. With the exception of the circled K-4, all writings/printings have been identified as being executed by Mr. Foster. K5. One (1) photocopy of a paper bearing fourteen (14) lines of handwritten/handprinted words, letters, numerals and markings by two different people. With the exception of the circled K-5, all writings/printings have been identified as being executed by Mr. Foster. First line reads: Whitewater Thirteenth line reads: Q- Who sign K6. One (1) photocopy of a lined paper bearing twenty-one (21) lines of handwritten/handprinted words, letters, numerals and markings by two different people. With the exception of the circled K-6, all writings/printings have been identified as being executed by Mr. Foster. Last line reads: but it is shaky K7. One (1) photocopy of a lined paper bearing fourteen lines of handprinted/handwritten words, letters, numerals and markings by two different people. With the exception of the circled K-7, all writings/printings have been identified as being executed by Mr. Foster. Second line reads: 10 options K8. One (1) photocopy of a lined paper bearing seven (7) lines of handwritten/handprinted words, letters and numerals by two different people. With the exception of the circled K-8, all writings/printings have been identified as having been executed by Mr. Foster. Last line reads: There are no canceled cks. K9. One (1) photocopy of a lined paper bearing fourteen (14) lines of handwritten/handprinted words, letters, numerals and markings by two different people. With the exception of the circled K-9, all writings/printings were executed by Mr. Foster. Last line reads: VS IRS audit K10. One (1) photocpy of a lined paper bearing nine (9) lines of handwritten/handprinted words, letters and numerals by two different people. With the exception of the circled K-10, all writing was executed by Mr. Foster. Last line reads defensible in audit Q1. One (1) photocopy of a Wall Street Journal article bearing a note with the captions: The Note That Won't Go Away The note was found in Vincent Foster's briefcase following his death and contains twenty-one (21) lines of handwritten/ handprinted words and letters. First two lines read: I made mistakes from ignorance, inexperience and overwork PART II - OPINION Using the handwriting/handprinting in Exhibits K1-K10 as the standards and as the basis for comparison, it is the opinion of the Examiner, within a reasonable degree of scientific certainty, that: A. The handwriting/handprinting on the questioned document, Exhibit Q1 was not written/printed by the Vincent W. Foster represented by the standards in Exhibits K1-K10. B. There are sufficient factors of dissimilarity in the hand- writing/handprinting on the questioned document, Exhibit Q1, and the standards, Exhibits K1-K10, to indicate they were written/printed by two different people. PART III - BASIS FOR OPINION This opinion is based on the following Pattern Recognition Factors: Re: Part II, A. --------------- The style, slant and flow of the writings/printings in the questioned document and the Vincent W. Foster Standards are not the same. Further, the individual letter stroke charac- teristics, personal writing/printing habits and idiosyncrasies, found in the Foster exemplars, are not present in the questioned writing/printing. These totally different factors, found in the questioned writ- tings, reflect the writing/printing habits of an individual other than the Vincent W. Foster represented by the exemplars in Exhib- its 1-10. Re: Part II. B. --------------- There are definitive factors of letter stroke charactaristics (personal writing/printing habits and idiosyncrasies) that are present in the cited standards but missing in the questioned writing/printing. These are specifically noted as, but not limited to, the following: 1. The handprinted capital A's, B's, C's, F's, G's, H's, I's, J's, N's, S's, T's, U's, V's, W's. 2. The handwritten captial C's. 3. The handwritten lower case a's, b's, c's, d's, e's, f's, g's, h's, i's, k's, l's, m's, n's, o's, p's, r's, s's, t's u's, v's, w's, y's. These factors, found in the questioned writing/printing and the cited standards, reflect the unconscious writing/printing habits of two com- pletely different people and establish the opinion cited in Part II, B. Sincerely, Ronald H. Rice Licensed Investigator Board Certified Handwriting Examiner Board Certified Forensic Examiner (BCFE) * RHR/mm * BCFE designation has been granted national registration by the National Cerification Commission
I made mistakes from ignorance, inexperience and overwork
I did not knowingly violate any law or standard of conduct
No one in the White House, to my knowledge, violated any law or standard of conduct, including any action in the travel office. There was no intent to benefit any individual or specific group (note: This is now known to be a lie, something writers of suicide notes tend NOT to do).
The FBI lied in their report to the AG
The press is covering up the illegal benefits they received from the travel staff
The GOP has lied and misrepresented its knowledge and role and covered up a prior investigation
The Ushers Office plotted to have excessive costs incurred, taking advantage of Kaki and HRC
The public will never believe the innocense of the Clintons and their loyal staff
The WSJ editors lie without consequence
I was not meant for the job or the spotlight of public life in Washington. Here ruining people is considered sport.
Click for full size picture.(18K)
This is the full page of the so-called suicide note, minus the one
torn section wjhere a signiture or initials would have gone. Note the rather
contrived nature of the ters surrounding the missing portion.
Click for full size picture.(15K)
This is a scan of the actual writing on the note.
Click for full size picture.(7K)
This is the single sample the Park Police used to claim that the suicide
note was written by Foster.
Click for full size picture.(4K)
Actual note known to be in Foster's writing. Note severe redactions.
Click for full size picture.(5K)
Click for full size picture.(13K)
Click for full size picture.(6K)
Click for full size picture.(12K)
Click for full size picture.(8K)
Click for full size picture.(6K)
Click for full size picture.(8K)
Click for full size picture.(7K)
Click for full size picture.(3K)
Click for full size picture.(7K)
Click for full size picture.(86.8K)
Three handwriting specialists presented analysis at a news conference of the note found in Foster's briefcase after the deputy White House counsel was found dead July 20, 1993 in a federal park near Washington. They said it appeared the note was not written by him but was a forgery. U.S. Park Police and former independent counsel Robert Fiske had concluded that Foster had committed suicide and that he had written the note but his death has given rise to some conspiratorial theories that Foster was murdered. The organizer of the news conference, James Davidson, an editor of a financial investment news letter, "Strategic Investment" said he commissioned the handwriting analysis and he concluded that "the evidence in this case overwhelmingly points to murder." The handwriting specialists, former New York police department homicide expert Vincent Scalice, Oxford University manuscript expert Reginald Alton, and Boston provate investigator Ronald Rice, said comparisons with a letter Foster had written had enough differences in style and letters to conclude the suicide note was not written by Foster .
WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Someone forged the torn-up suicide note that was discovered after White House lawyer Vincent Foster was found with a fatal gunshot wound in the head, a group of handwriting experts said Wednesday. Three handwriting specialists presented analysis at a news conference of the note found in Foster's briefcase after the deputy White House counsel was found dead July 20, 1993 in a federal park near Washington. They said it appeared the note was not written by him but was ``a forgery. U.S. Park Police and former independent counsel Robert Fiske had concluded that Foster had committed suicide and that he had written the note but his death has given rise to some conspiratorial theories that Foster was murdered. The note, said written days or weeks before Foster died, was not a classic suicide note in the sense of saying goodbye to the world. Instead, the note complained of life in Washington and concluded ``I was not meant for the job or the spotlight of public life in Washington. Here ruining people is considered sport.'' The organizer of the news conference, James Davidson, an editor of a financial investment news letter, ``Strategic Investment,'' said he commissioned the handwriting analysis and he concluded that ``the evidence in this case overwhelmingly points to murder.'' He said he asked for the analysis because his newsletter has ``an investigatory bent.'' The handwriting specialists provided no information as to who they thought might have written the note or why. Reut14:40 10-25-95
Panel Eyes W'water Subpoenas WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate Whitewater Committee plans to call Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief of staff and a longtime friend for further questioning about White House restrictions that kept police from searching Vincent Foster's office. After a hearing Wednesday, committee chairman Alfonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., said the panel might consider calling Mrs. Clinton to testify, depending on what witnesses Margaret Williams and Susan Thomases say. With a stack of recently obtained telephone records in hand, D'Amato threatened to issue sweeping subpoenas for more documents and he accused the Clinton White House of withholding material that was requested months ago. A longtime friend of Mrs. Clinton, Ms. Thomases told the committee last summer that she didn't speak to Mrs. Clinton about the planned police search of Foster's office, but D'Amato said Mrs. Thomases statements are "at least suspect" in light of the phone records. Ms. Thomases "has failed to answer in a responsive manner," D'Amato told reporters. White House spokesman Mark Fabiani accused D'Amato of "misrepresenting the facts" and said "the senators' political side show was made possible because we voluntarily provided the records." "The senator is seeking the last refuge for a political witch-hunter," Fabiani added. "He is complaining about technicalities and procedures." Committee Democrats objected to the far-reaching subpoenas proposed by D'Amato and committee lawyers were negotiating a compromise to narrow their scope. The committee's ranking Democrat, Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, said he was "very disappointed" that Republicans had initiated the subpoena plan without consulting the rest of the committee. The telephone records show that hours before Foster's office was to be searched, Mrs. Clinton spoke with Ms. Thomases and her chief of staff, Ms. Williams, before talking to White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum. Nussbaum then told law enforcement officials they would not be allowed to review Foster's documents. Mrs. Clinton calls on Ms. Thomases, an attorney, for advice from time to time. The two women have known each other for decades. The phone records also show three calls by Ms. Thomases to Ms. Williams' office two hours before the search of Foster's office the afternoon of July 22, 1993, two days after the deputy White House counsel's suicide. And minutes before the search began, Ms. Williams called Mrs. Clinton. Foster had custody of some financial records of the Clintons and a file on the White House travel office controversy -- the mass firings that raised a furor and embarrassed the administration. Separately, the committee's majority counsel, Michael Chertoff, disclosed that the Treasury Department has shredded some records relating to Whitewater contacts between the White House and Treasury officials. Chertoff said the Treasury inspector general's office reported that the shredded documents were only duplicates, but he said the action nonetheless concerned the committee. As the hearing ended, D'Amato said that there may be an innocent explanation for the shredding but that issuing subpoenas would safeguard against such action in the future. Meanwhile, a forensic panel of three handwriting experts contended that the torn-up note found in the bottom of Foster's briefcase six days after his death is a forgery. The finding conflicts with two previous investigations concluding that Foster wrote the note. The three experts who say Foster didn't write the note are Reginald E. Alton of Oxford University; Vincent Scalice, formerly a homicide expert with the New York City Police Department; and Ronald Rice, a consultant to the Massachusetts attorney general's office. The three conducted the work for Strategic Investment, a financial newsletter. In an interview, Alton said he compared the torn-up note with a number of pages of notes in Foster's hand turned up during Whitewater and that "it's a shaky enough forgery. It seems to me that the forger is reproducing shapes without understanding how they were made and how Foster's hand works."
------------------------------------------- The Electronic Telegraph Thursday 26 October 1995 Vince Foster suicide note forged, say experts BY STEPHEN ROBINSON THE mystery surrounding the 1993 death of Vincent Foster, a senior White House official, deepened yesterday when three handwriting experts, one of them an Oxford don, ruled that his alleged suicide note was a forgery. Reginald Alton, emeritus fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, who flew to Washington to announce the results of his inquiry, said it was clear the torn-up note recovered from a briefcase in Mr Foster's office could not have been written by him. The note listed Mr Foster's grievances in his life in Washington, and its contents were taken as evidence that he was suicidal at the time of his death. Written on a yellow legal pad and torn into many pieces, the note has long been a riddle within the wider mystery surrounding Mr Foster's death. His body was recovered at a secluded piece of parkland outside Washington, a pistol in his hand and a bullet wound to the head. No one heard a shot or saw Mr Foster arrive. The note was not recovered during the first search of Mr Foster's office, but was found six days after his death by Bernard Nussbaum, a White House legal counsel and a friend of President and Mrs Clinton. Forger was unable to recreate Mr Foster's confident counter-clockwise loops or circles During Whitewater hearings last summer, senators expressed bafflement that the note could have been overlooked, and some suggested White House staff were deliberately obstructing investigators on behalf of Mr and Mrs Clinton. In the note, the writer purporting to be Mr Foster regrets mistakes he made, complains of hostile coverage of his office in the Wall Street Journal, and concludes: "I was not meant for the job or the spotlight of public life in Washington. Here ruining people is considered sport." Mr Alton introduced himself with a donnish self-effacement at yesterday's press conference in Washington, and advised reporters not to "mistake me for another interfering Brit" out to paint America in unflattering light. The conference was organised by Strategic Investment, which has taken an interest in the Foster case and paid the experts. Ronald Rice, who has 18 years' experience in forensic and handwriting work, came to the same conclusions as Mr Alton. Vincent Scalice, a retired New York detective with extensive forensic experience, concurred. The comparison was made between the note and 12 samples of Mr Foster's handwriting. Mr Alton confirmed that all 12 samples had been written by Mr Foster, but that the other note could not have been written by him. The formation of the letters was different. For instance, Mr Foster wrote the letter b with a single stroke, while the forger used three separate strokes. The forger was unable to recreate Mr Foster's confident counter-clockwise loops or circles. Reply to Electronic Telegraph - [15]et@telegraph.co.uk Electronic Telegraph is a Registered Service Mark of The Telegraph plc
"Don't believe a word you hear. It was not suicide. It couldn't have been." -Assistant Attorney General Webster Hubbell, 7/20/93, cited in Esquire, 11/93.