Feeding the Beast

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

Attention, Washington pundits: Those of you who bet that Whitewater would sink three top Treasury officials before you had to write your annual thumb-suckers about Why Presidents Need Summer Vacations lost last week. Treasury chief of staff Joshua Steiner -- ridiculed for questioning the accuracy of his own diary during the Senate hearings on Whitewater three weeks ago -- seemed safe for now. "He's being handled in juvenile court," sneered a congressional G.O.P. staffer discussing the youthful Steiner. "I find it disturbing that he's not being tried as an adult."

The two adults, however, dutifully fell on their sword. On Wednesday, Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman submitted his resignation amid accusations that he misled lawmakers during Senate testimony; the next day Treasury general counsel Jean Hanson resigned.

Altman had been accused of lying to the Senate in February about the breadth of White House-Treasury contacts over Whitewater. During House and Senate hearings, Altman strove mightily to salvage his credibility. He failed. Although it had been reported that Altman decided to resign on Aug. 10, sources close to him say he knew as soon as his Senate testimony was over that his departure was likely.

Hanson too was aware that her days were numbered. Her version of events surrounding the White House-Treasury contacts contradicted those of Altman and Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen. Bentsen was reportedly furious with her.

Altman and Hanson will probably not be the last Whitewater sacrifices. Warns an Administration source: "The people who have fed the beast should not assume the beast is happy." Last week the New York Times reported that before being replaced, independent counsel Robert Fiske had widened his inquiries to include the finances of Clinton's 1990 gubernatorial campaign.

With reporting by Suneel Ratan/Washington