Photographs & illustrations of guns,
The following excerpt from pp.261-278 of
Failure of the Public Trust includes photographs and illustrations of the guns |
Fornshill testified that he radioed that the death was an "apparent suicide,"[472] without having seen the weapon from "within five feet away,"[473] "[b]ased on the determination the person was dead... [and his] assumption from the paramedic... that the gun was found in his hand."[474]
There is no explanation how
Fornshill could have remained at the body site for over ten minutes, sometimes alone with
an unobstructed view, without having seen the gun. He never made a report of his involvement.[475] No investigator
debriefed him or even spoke to him about what he saw.[476] "Nothing unusual had occurred,"[477] Fornshill testified, so he did not read the newspaper accounts of the
death until January of the following year.
[This photograph was from ABC News
and it was published in Newsweek.
Click photo for a larger view ]
Firefighter Todd Hall
Paramedic George Gonzalez
Paramedic Todd Hall testified in the summer of 1994 that he could not remember specifically what the gun looked like, but that he recalled seeing "just a gun."
Q. But you couldn't tell what kind of gun it was?
A. No. I seen it was a gun. I just didn't try to determine what type it was.
* * *
Q. When you say the hand that you saw at the scene, was it holding the gun, gripping the gun?
A. I couldn't tell. I didn't get that close. All I know is that I saw the gun.[478]
Notwithstanding that Hall, one of the first two persons to observe the gun, couldn't tell what kind of gun it was, the OIC claims that his "description... [is] consistent with the gun retrieved from the scene."
OIC, p. 79:
There are discrepancies in the descriptions of the color and kind of gun seen in Mr. Foster's hand. However, the descriptions provided by the first two persons to observe the gun, as well as of numerous others, are consistent with the gun retrieved from the scene and depicted in the on-the-scene Polaroids.fn229
Besides Hall, Paramedic George Gonzalez is the other of the "first two persons to observe the gun" on whom the OIC relies in its claim that these two men described seeing a gun a "consistent with the gun retrieved from the scene."
Gonzalez testified in the summer of 1994 that the position of the gun he saw at the park, before Sergeant Edwards had been alone with the body, was different than the position of the gun as it was photographed in Mr. Foster's hand at the park.
Q.Apparently you recall the gun being in a different position than what was photographed?
Gonzalez testified that he "looked at the gun at a glance,"[480]] that he "didn't know the size of the gun nor the type of gun,"[481] and that "as time goes on, I remember less and less."[482]
But, according to the OIC, Gonzalez is said to have remembered more as time went on. The unknown type of gun that he had seen at a glance was a "black or dark revolver."
OIC, p. 79, fn. 229:
"See Gonzalez 302, 5/15/96, at 4; Gonzalez OIC, 1/10/95, at 43 (saw black or dark revolver in hand)..."
Officer Franz Ferstl
Park Police Officer Franz Ferstl arrived on the scene to relieve Officer Kevin Fornshill. Ferstl photographed the body site with a Polaroid camera. He filed an Incident Report, but that Report does not mention his seeing any gun.[483] The FBI's Report of its interview with him in May of 1994 does report that he saw a gun, yet it does not provide any description of that gun.
"Ferstl advised that he did see a weapon in the victim's right hand."[484]
Paramedic Richard Arthur
Firefighter Ralph Pisani
Firefighter Lieutenant James Iacone
Firefighter Jennifer Wacha
The FBI did not interview Paramedic Richard Arthur during the course of its first investigation, but has since interviewed him on four separate occasions. The FBI interviewed him twice during the Fiske probe, once on March 16, 1994, and again on April 29, reportedly to "clarify" his account. The OIC's FBI agents interviewed him again in January of 1995. But again, his account was not satisfactory to the FBI, so Starr's FBI agents interviewed him a fourth time in April of 1996, three years after the death.
Arthur's account of the neck wound (see above) was not the only controversial part of his testimony. His observations of the gun at the scene were also problematic. The FBI's final account of these observations bear little resemblance to the first such Report, particularly when compared to the interviewing agent's' handwritten notes of that first FBI interview.
This first interview had been conducted eight months after Arthur had inspected the body around 6:22 p.m. on July 20, 1993. Those handwritten notes, taken in April of 1994, reflect that he unequivocally remembered what he had seen.
"Barrel end tucked under right leg. 100%
sure automatic weapon (was in Army look at gun magazines
Knows the diff between automatic & revolver)
Appeared like .45 automatic."[485]
The corresponding typed version of that interview does not reflect his "100%" certainty, reporting only that "[he] did not believe the gun was a revolver."[486]
The Report of Mr. Arthur's second FBI interview, conducted in April of 1994, states that the gun "appeared... he thought... to the best of his memory, he recalls..." was not a revolver.
"Arthur saw what appeared to be a gun that he thought was a 9 - millimeter pistol... to the best of his memory, he recalls the handle on the weapon being square in shape."[487]
According to the OIC's FBI agents, in January of 1995 (his third FBI interview), Paramedic Arthur opined that the gun was not a revolver because "he did not recall seeing a cylinder."
OIC, p. 79, fn. 228:
...Arthur states that the gun was black-brownish but not a revolver (based on the fact that he did not recall seeing a cylinder). OIC, 1/5/95, at 46-47. After viewing a photograph of the weapon in the decedent's hand, Arthur stated, according to the interview report, "My memory is, I saw a semi-
automatic, however, I must have been mistaken." 302, 4/24/96, at 2...
Arthur's deposition testimony before Senate investigators provides his account in its pristine form, without the opportunity for the FBI to filter or spin it. Arthur testified that he saw Foster's hand on "the clip portion" of the "automatic... not a revolver."[488]
He demonstrated that he knew the difference by drawing pictures.[489]
Thus, according to the FBI's fourth interview with Arthur, he admitted that
he "must have been mistaken" when he was "100% sure" years
earlier that the gun which he saw from "2 to 3 feet away," and later drew a
picture of, was not a revolver.
By referring to the semi-automatic and the revolver as "the" gun, the OIC does not confront the existence of the semi-automatic.
There is no record of Firefighters Ralph Pisani or Jennifer Wacha ever having opined on the type of gun they may have seen.
| Paramedic Richard Arthur's drawing of the semi-automatic pistol that he saw in Mr. Foster's hand, and of a revolver to demonstrate that he knew the difference between the two types of guns. |
In claiming that the "discrepancies are created by statements of FCFRD personnel Arthur and Iacone...," and that "Iacone stated that the gun was a silver-colored revolver-type weapon," the OIC cites a 1994 FBI Report, which is public, and a January, 1995 OIC interview, which is not.
OIC, p. 79, fn. 228:
...Iacone stated that the gun was a silver-colored revolver-type weapon. 302, 4/27/94, at 3; OIC, 1/10/95, at 27.[490]
Contrary to the OIC's claim, page 3 of the above-referenced April 1994, FBI interview report does not mention the gun. Page 2 notes that Iacone saw "what appeared to be a revolver... but did not look closely..."[491] (The OIC reports that Iacone saw a silver gun. As we shall see, the official death weapon was black.)
Sergeant Robert Edwards
There is no publicly available record of the gun Sergeant Robert Edwards saw. Although he was "in charge of the scene,"[492] he did not write a report. The Senate did not depose him and the FBI did not interview him until 1996, so Edwards' account of the gun he saw, if one exists, is still secret.
Lieutenant Patrick Gavin
Investigator Christine Hodakievic
The senior Park Police at the scene, Lieutenant Patrick Gavin, also did not write a report. Gavin told the FBI he saw "the gun," but there is no record of his having described it.[493]
We believe that Park Police Officer Christine Hodakievic viewed the body before and after Edwards had been alone at the body site. Hodakievic wrote an Incident Report on July 20, 1993 that does not mention any gun[494] (or wounds or blood). She, too, never saw the weapon, as is apparent from the FBI's May, 1994, report of its interview with her. The FBI reported that based on "Sergeant Edwards... [having] informed [her] that the decedent had a revolver in his right hand," she "briefed... officers [Braun and Rolla]... includ[ing] informing them that a weapon had been located in the decedent's right hand."
The FBI explained her having failed to see the weapon (that Gonzalez had seen after "a few seconds"[495]) after "five to ten minutes" at the body site by explaining that she said "it was difficult to actually see the weapon."
She does recall being initially briefed by Sergeant Edwards, which included being informed that the decedent had a revolver in his right hand, as well as being shown a Polaroid photograph of decedent's position at the death scene. She further maintained that after being briefed, she initiated a cursory look at the body from the top of the berm, moving from the left of the decedent's body to the right of the body. She related that in spite of being informed that decedent had a gun in his right hand, it was difficult to actually see the weapon...[496]
Investigator John Rolla
Investigator Cheryl Braun
Evidence Technician Peter Simonello
Investigator Renee Abt
Unidentified Intern
Officer Watson
Investigator John Rolla, the thirteenth person to see the body, was the first to report that he "observed a dark colored revolver in Mr. Foster's right hand."[497]
Investigator Braun reported "seeing a revolver in the right hand."[498]
[Official Park Police photograph of gun.
Click photo for a larger view.}
Park Police Identification Technician Peter Simonello noted in his Report, written on July 26, six days after the incident, that he had removed a black .38 revolver from Mr. Foster's hand.[499] His Senate deposition is in accord.[500]
Park Police Investigator Renee Abt's contemporaneous notes state that a "revolver & 2 rounds" were recovered at the park.[501]
Officer Watson and the unnamed intern did not file reports and there are no reports of their interviews.
4. Ownership of gun and ammunition
a. Gun
The Report declares (p. 79) that "[v]irtually all theories that the manner of death was not suicide rest on the assumption that the gun did not belong to Mr. Foster." The OIC concludes (p. 84) that the "combination of testimonial, circumstantial, and forensic evidence supports the conclusion that the gun found in Mr. Foster's hand belonged to Mr. Foster."
In sum, the testimonial and circumstantial evidence upon which the OIC purportedly relies in dismissing "all theories" is that family members recall that Mr. Foster owned a silver .38 revolver,[502] that it was brought from Little Rock when he moved to Washington, and that this gun was missing from his home the day he died.[503] Let us see.
The Report tells us that of Mr. Foster's three children, one saw "a handgun" in Washington,[504] another observed "one or two handguns,"[505] and the third saw "an old .38 caliber revolver" but "was unable to conclusively identify" it [506] as being the same gun which was found in Mr. Foster's hand.
The OIC also tells us of a letter written by a family friend who, after showing a photograph of the gun to Mr. Foster's sister, Sharon, wrote that she said the gun "looked like"[507] a gun given to Mr. Foster by his mother[508] (who also could not identify it[509]). Regarding the sister's statements, the OIC recounts that the letter related that it looked like a gun her father had owned.
OIC, p. 82:
"[I]t 'looked like a gun she had seen in her father's
collection,' and particularly pointed out the
'wavelike' detailing at the base of the grip."
This quote is accurately excerpted, but dishonest without the inclusion of the two sentences of the letter appearing immediately after the one that it chose to quote.
"I asked if she remembered any other features.
She did not."[510]
The OIC omits any mention of the FBI's interview of Lee Bowman, Mr. Foster's nephew and the family member who was most familiar with the subject gun collection. Lee had become familiar with the gun collection from hunting with his grandfather. After the death of Mr. Foster, Sr., in 1991, Mrs. Alice Mae Foster gave the handguns to Mr. Foster. Lee's knowledge further attests that a black revolver was not among the guns in the collection. The FBI's Report of its June 28, 1994 interview with Lee waters down the significance of his account, but it is still there.
Bowman recalled seeing that his grandfather possessed about three pistols/revolvers; about four shotguns; and two or three rifles... [He said] the gun does not ring a bell particularly. Bowman said the '.38 caliber nature of the weapon was familiar, but that he didn't remember the black handle and the dark color of the metal.[511]
According to Lee, there was a .38 caliber revolver in the collection, but it was silver, not black.[512]
According to the OIC's version of a May, 1994 report of an FBI interview with Mrs. Foster, an FBI agent showed Mr. Foster "the actual gun" found in Mr. Foster's hand, whereupon she said it may have been the same gun she had seen in her Washington home.
OIC, p. 81:
On May 9, 1994, she was shown the actual gun that was recovered and said, according to the interview report, that the gun "may be a gun which she formerly saw in her residence in Little Rock, Arkansas" and that "she may have seen the handgun . . . at her residence in Washington.'fn241"
The FBI (and the Fiske Report) had recounted the same version of events after its FBI agents interviewed Mrs. Foster in the Spring of 1994.
Lisa Foster then examined a revolver which had been brought to the interview by the interviewing agents. Foster examined the revolver, which had also been found at Fort Marcy Park on July 20, 1993, and stated that she believed it may be a gun which she formerly saw in her residence in Little Rock... Lisa Foster recalls... she found a handgun inside a travel trunk which had been packed by Foster prior to his departure for Washington. Specifically, as Lisa Foster was packing in Little Rock, she came across a silver colored gun, which she then packed in with her other property... Lisa Foster believes that the gun found at Fort Marcy Park may be the silver gun which she brought up with her other belongings when she permanently moved to Washington.[513]
But there is a flaw in this long-standing official conclusion that the silver gun brought from Little Rock, reportedly missing (OIC, p. 82) from the Foster residence on the evening of the death, was the one found at the scene: The official death weapon is entirely black,[514] not silver.
The only plausible explanation of why the FBI showed Mrs. Foster a "silver colored" handgun is as follows. The interviewing FBI agents knew from the Park Police case file turned over to them that when shown a photograph of the black official death gun, she could not identify it because the only .38 revolver she knew of was silver. The Park Police handwritten interview notes of an interview with Mrs. Foster, taken nine days after Mr. Foster's death, reflects that when she was shown a photograph of the gun, Mrs. Foster could not identify it because the only Foster family gun with which she was familiar was silver.
"Not the gun she thought it must be, silver, six gun, large barrel."[515]
The OIC skims over the obvious discrepancy of the color of the gun by recounting that when shown the gun in November of 1995, Mrs. Foster stated "it was the gun she unpacked in Washington," but that "she seemed to remember the... gun looking lighter in color."
OIC, p. 81-82:
She stated to the OIC in November of 1995, when viewing the gun recovered from Mr. Foster's hand, that it was the gun she unpacked in Washington but had not subsequently found,fn242 although she said she seemed to remember the front of the gun looking lighter in color when she saw it during the move to Washington.fn243
The revolver found in Mr. Foster's hand was black. By all accounts, the revolver Mr. Foster owned was silver. The OIC attempts to confuse the issue by reporting that Mrs. Foster "seemed to remember the front of the gun looking lighter in color."
The FBI's suicide conclusion would have been undercut by the knowledge that the weapon found in Mr. Foster's hand was unknown to the family. So the Report hides the color of the weapon found in Mr. Foster's hand (as Fiske had) and baldly asserts (p. 84) that the gun "which was missing when she looked in the closet after Mr. Foster's death... was the one found at the scene." The OIC's claim that the death weapon was missing from the home is new.
OIC, p. 82:
Webster Hubbell stated that, on the night of Mr. Foster's death, Lisa Foster went upstairs in the Foster house with him. While there, she looked into the top of a closet, pulled out a "squared-off" gun, and said, according to Hubbell, that one of the guns was missing.fn244 To Hubbell's knowledge, the "other gun" was never found at the Foster house.fn245
OIC, p. 84:
"Mrs. Lisa Foster said that she recalls two guns in a
bedroom closet in Washington, one of which was missing
when she looked in the closet after Mr. Foster's death..."
But, again, the FBI reported a year after Mr. Foster's death that there was one gun, not two, and that it was in "its usual location" after the death.
"Lisa Foster was aware of the location of one gun inside her residence in Washington and she found that gun still in its usual location on the night of July 20, 1993."[516]
____________________________
[472] Exhibit 79, Deposition of Park Police Officer Kevin Fornshill, July 12, 1994: [W]hen he showed the gun, or tried to show me the gun, saying there's a gun there, I advised communications that it appeared to be a suicide... Q. And you said that it appeared to be a suicide based on what? A. Based on the determination the person was dead. Again, my assumption from the paramedic and that the gun was found in his hand, which is what the paramedic told me. [473] Exhibit 79, Deposition of Park Police Officer Kevin Fornshill, July 12, 1994: "Q. How many feet were you from the body? A. Five perhaps... From my switching from the area from the left, the majority of my visual inspection was from the right hand side of the body..." [474] Exhibit 79, Deposition of Park Police Officer Kevin Fornshill, July 12, 1994. [475] Exhibit 79, Deposition of Park Police Officer Kevin Fornshill, July 12, 1994: I went back to the station, I engaged in a conversation with Officer Hedakovic [sic] whose name I gave you earlier, and I asked if there was any need for me to document anything, just being the first one to respond to the body. And it was felt that there was really no need for me to document anything... [476] Exhibit 79, Deposition of Park Police Officer Kevin Fornshill, July 12, 1994: Q. Did any of the detectives on the scene come and talk to you? A. No... Q. Not one of these guys [detectives on the scene] ever talked to you about the crime scene? A. No, not that I know of... Q. Did you ever talk to any of the other officers or people out there about what happened? A. There was some conversation the next day... but there was no official debriefing in regards to me being interviewed by the detectives or the investigators... [477] Exhibit 79, Deposition of Park Police Officer Kevin Fornshill, July 12, 1994: "[N]othing unusual had occurred, to my knowledge... I think I looked at it [the beat officer's Report] sometime after the incident, perhaps a month or so after the incident..." [478] Exhibit 67, Deposition of Paramedic Todd Hall, July 20, 1994. [479] Exhibit 110, Deposition of Paramedic George Gonzalez, July 20, 1994. [480] Exhibit 110, Deposition of Paramedic George Gonzalez, July 20, 1994: "Q. Did you study the gun for any other kind? A. No, I just looked at the gun at a glance as my visual approach assessment, standing on the right side of the body and looking at the head, and on down." [481] Exhibit 110, Deposition of Paramedic George Gonzalez, July 20, 1994: "Q. Do you remember what type of gun it was? A. All I could say, like I said to you, it's a revolver. I don't know the size gun nor the type gun, or anything like that." [482] Exhibit 110, Deposition of Paramedic George Gonzalez, July 20, 1994: "I'll have to go with that statement [regarding observations of contents of car] because, as time goes on, I remember less and less." [483] Exhibit 112, Park Police Report of Officer Franz Ferstl, July 20, 1993. [484] Exhibit 96, Report of FBI interview of Park Police Officer Franz Ferstl, May 2, 1994. [485] Exhibit 109, Handwritten notes of FBI interview with Paramedic Richard Arthur, March 16, 1994. [486] Exhibit 82, Report of FBI interview with Paramedic Richard Arthur, April 29, 1994: "Foster had a gun located under his right hand... did not believe the gun was a revolver... stood on the right side near the head, approximately 2-3 feet away from Foster's right hand." [487] Exhibit 82, Report of FBI interview with Paramedic Richard Arthur, April 29, 1994. [488] Exhibit 107, Deposition of Paramedic Richard Arthur, July 14, 1994. [489] Exhibit 107, Deposition of Paramedic Richard Arthur, July 14, 1994. [490] OIC, p. 79, fn. 228: These discrepancies are created by statements of FCFRD personnel Arthur and Iacone, which themselves are not consistent. Arthur states that the gun was black-brownish but not a revolver (based on the fact that he did not recall seeing a cylinder). OIC, 1/5/95, at 46-47. After viewing a photograph of the weapon in the decedent's hand, Arthur stated, according to the interview report, My memory is, I saw a semi-automatic, however, I must have been mistaken." 302, 4/24/96, at 2. Iacone stated that the gun was a silver-colored revolver-type weapon. 302, 4/27/94, at 3; OIC, 1/10/95, at 27. [491] Exhibit 78, Report of FBI Interview of James Iacone, March 11, 1994: "Iacone does not recall observing any blood. He saw what appeared to be a revolver in Foster's right hand, but he did not look closely enough to see an entrance or exit wound." [492] Exhibit 81, Report of FBI interview of Park Police Officer Christine Hodakievic, May 2, 1994: "Officer Hodakievic advised to the best of her recollection, upon arriving at the death scene, Sergeant Edwards (USPP) was basically in charge of the death scene and believes that Officer Franz Ferstl was also present." [493] Exhibit 98, Report of FBI interview Park Police Lieutenant Patrick Gavin, April 28, 1994. [494] Exhibit 76, Park Police Criminal Incident Report, by Christine Hodakievic, July 21, 1993. [495] Exhibit 110, Deposition of Paramedic George Gonzalez, July 20, 1993: "Q. And the gun issue. Did you see a gun right away? A. Yes. I mean right away, it took me a few seconds. When I looked down -- when we do our assessment, on my assessment I recognized a gun present." [496] Exhibit 81, Report of FBI interview of Park Police Officer Christine Hodakievic, May, 2, 1994. [497] Exhibit 113, Park Police Incident Report, by Park Police Investigator John Rolla, July 21, 1993. [498] Exhibit 91, Report of FBI interview of Investigator Cheryl Braun, April 28, 1994: "Braun stated that she recalls seeing a revolver in the right hand, pointing out that she was looking for the gun as she had already been told that it was a suicide." [499] Exhibit 134, Park Police Report Supplement by Evidence Technician Peter Simonello, July 26, 1993. [500] Exhibit 104, Deposition of Park Police Evidence Technician Peter Simonello, July 14, 1994. [501] Exhibit 118, Handwritten notes of Park Police Investigator Renee Apt, July 20, 1993. [502] Exhibit 98, Report of FBI interview with Lieutenant Patrick Gavin, April 28, 1994: "Mr. Burton first inquired about whether the U.S. Park Police had checked the registration on the gun that was used, asking if they knew whose gin it was..." [503] OIC, p. 80-81: Mrs. Lisa Foster similarly recalls that her husband took possession of several handguns from his parents' house near the time of his father's death.fn233 She recalled that, after they moved to Washington in 1993, some guns were kept in a bedroom closet.fn234 She recalled what she described as a silver-colored gunfn235 (she also referred to it as a "cowboy gun"fn236), which had been packed in Little Rock and unpacked in Washington. She also recalled a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. She said she found one gun in its usual location on July 20, 1993,fn237 the .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol.fn238 She did not find the other gun on or after July 20, 1993.fn239[504] OIC, p. 84: "Mr. Foster's daughter stated she recalled someone unpacking a handgun at the house when they initially moved to Washington, although she never saw any other guns in their Washington, house."fn254 [505] OIC, p. 83-84: Mr. Foster's younger son stated that he saw one or two handguns in a shoebox along with a number of loose bullets while unpacking in Washington. The younger son stated that these items came from his grandfather's house. He described his grandfather's guns as a small, pearl handled gun, and one or two revolvers. He believes his father placed the guns in a closet in Washington.fn253
[506] OIC, p. 83: Mr. Foster's older son said he knew his father had an old .38 caliber revolver. He saw it being unpacked at their house in Washington when they moved there. Mr. Foster told his son that he had received this gun from his father (Vincent Foster, Sr.). The older son did not know where the gun was kept in Washington. The son was unable to conclusively identify the gun recovered on July 20, 1993, from Mr. Foster's hand as the one he had previously seen.fn252
[507] OIC, p. 82-83: Sharon Bowman, one of Mr. Foster's sisters, recalled that her father kept a black revolver in a drawer of his bedside table.fn246 She said that she had retrieved various handguns from her parents' house, placed them in a shoebox, and put them in her mother's closet (and Ms. Bowman said they later were given to Mr. Foster, Jr.).fn247 During the 1993 Park Police investigation, John Sloan, a family friend of the Fosters, wrote a letter to Captain Hume of the Park Police, stating that he had shown Sharon Bowman a photograph of the gun. According to the letter, Ms. Bowman stated that it "looked like a gun she had seen in her father's collection," and particularly pointed out the "'wavelike' detailing at the base of the grip."fn248 Ms. Bowman was later shown the revolver recovered from Fort Marcy Park. She indicated that it looked like one that her father kept in the house in Hope, but she could not positively identify it.fn249
[508] OIC, p. 80: Mrs. Alice Mae Foster, Mr. Foster's mother, stated that Mr. Foster, Sr. died in 1991. He had kept a revolver in a drawer of his bedside table, in addition to other guns in the house.fn231 In 1991, when Mr. Foster, Sr. had been ill and bedridden for a period of time, Mrs. Alice Mae Foster had all the handguns in the house placed in a box and put into a closet. Subsequent to the death of Mr. Foster, Sr., in 1991, Mrs. Alice Mae Foster gave Mr. Foster, Jr., the box of handguns.fn232
[509] OIC, p. 80, fn. 232: "302, 5/2/95, at 1-2. Mrs. Alice Mae Foster and her long-time housekeeper viewed the gun recovered from Mr. Foster's hand, but they could not specifically identify it as one of the guns previously possessed by Mr. Foster, Sr. Id. at 2, 4." [510] Exhibit 145, Letter from John Sloan to Park Police, undated: "Ms. Bowman said it [the photograph] looked like a gun she had seen in her father's collection. She particularly pointed out the 'wavelike' detailing at the base of the grip. I asked if she remembered any other features. She did not." [511] Exhibit 146, Report of FBI interview with Lee Bowman, June 28, 1994.
[513] Exhibit 16, Report of FBI interview with Mrs. Foster, May 9, 1994. [514] Exhibit 147, Photograph of black revolver. Exhibit 148, ABC News photograph of black weapon in hand. Exhibit 134, Park Police Report Supplement by Evidence Technician Peter Simonello, July 26, 1993: "[T]he victim had on his right hand a black revolver." [515] Exhibit 149, Handwritten notes of Park Police interview with Mrs. Foster, July 29, 1993. Exhibit 144, Park Police Report by Park Police Detective Peter Markland, July 29, 1993: "She was presented with a photograph of the weapon found with Mr. Foster's body but was unable to identify it." Exhibit 6, Deposition of Park Police Investigator John Rolla, July 21, 1994: "No. The only real question I got to ask was about the gun, did Vincent own a gun. She asked me what does it look like, you know. To me, right away I am thinking oh, he does, well, it's a black-colored revolver, .38 revolver. She cut me off..." [516] Exhibit 16, Report of FBI interview with Mrs. Foster, May 9, 1994.[512] Compare A. Devroy, Clinton Finds No Explanation to Aide's Death, Wash. Post, July 23, 1993: "The [Park Police] chief said Foster owned a gun described being like the one found." S. Labaton, Justice Dept. to Stay on Case of Aide's Death, N.Y. Times, July 22, 1993: "In clarifying an account they had provided Wednesday, Federal officials said today that only one 38-caliber Army Colt revolver had been recovered in the case, not two." M. Carlson, Where Hope Ends, Time Magazine, August 2, 1993: "Last Tuesday afternoon, six months to the day since his boyhood friend had taken the oath of office... put his father's antique .38-cal. Colt revolver in his mouth and ended his life..."
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