Death of American Virtue - Ken Gormley [49]
On the front passenger seat of Foster’s car, a black suit jacket was neatly folded. On top of it was Vince’s blue silk tie bearing a design of swans. Under the suit coat was a White House identification badge with Foster’s name and photo on it. Inside Foster’s wallet, in his suit coat, police found $292 in cash, assorted credit cards, and a piece of paper listing the names of the three psychiatrists whom his sister had recommended a few days earlier, but whom he had never reached.
The official autopsy report stated that Foster had died of a gunshot wound with an entrance point approximately 7½ inches from the top of his head. Dr. James Beyer, deputy chief medical examiner of Virginia, who conducted the autopsy with U.S. Park Police in attendance, had observed a “tannish brown indentation” across the back of Foster’s right thumb, indicating the place where the thumb had pressed against the trigger guard. Beyer declared that the cause of death was a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound. The autopsy stated that there was no indication of a struggle, nor of foul play. Nor was there any other evidence indicating that anyone other than Foster himself “put a gun in his mouth and pull[ed] the trigger.”
THE Secret Service was notified of the death by park police at 8:30 P.M. President Clinton at that time was in the White House library, filming an interview for Larry King Live. To complicate an already bad scene, the president had just agreed to stay on the show for an extra half hour. A Secret Service agent stepped forward and briefed Chief of Staff Thomas “Mack” McLarty, who was standing in the wings. McLarty choked back tears. He, too, had grown up with Vince and Bill Clinton in Hope. This seemed impossible.
McLarty issued instructions to the show’s producers that no calls should be patched through to Larry King—nothing that might reveal the news about Foster. President Clinton was on live television; that would be a disaster. Next, McLarty ducked into a room and called the First Lady, who had flown to Little Rock to keep her mother company. Hillary’s father had just passed away in April; it was a tough time for the Rodham family. As soon as McLarty got Hillary on the line and relayed the news, the First Lady choked out the words, “I can’t believe it’s true,” and then broke down sobbing. McLarty waited for a commercial break and walked onto the television set. He announced, “We have to conclude this interview.” President Clinton tried to keep going—but McLarty took him by the arm and steered him upstairs to the living quarters. Here, McLarty sat Clinton down in a chair and told him, “Mr. President, Vince Foster has committed suicide.” President Clinton fought back tears. He formulated several questions, asking whether Hillary had been notified, and then broke down crying.
Clinton himself remembered that horrible night, struggling to find suitable words: “First of all, it was really bad for [Hillary] because she was home. And she couldn’t, you know, go with me to see Lisa [Vince’s wife] and the kids. It was really tough. I mean, I think she felt bereft being apart from us. You know, Vince had been her best friend at the law firm, he had helped me in the attorney general’s race, he had encouraged the Rose Law Firm to hire Hillary, and they were both in the litigation section. They were close. They worked on cases together. They were really good friends. And she loved him. Just like I did. We thought he was great, and, you know, Lisa taught Chelsea to swim. We had been at their home together. We were all very close, and it was truly awful. And I felt so bad for Hillary because she