1.
GV & CU President Carter walking through White House grounds with Panamanian President Torrijos surrounded by newsmen
0.14

2.
SCU President Carter speaking
0.40

3.
CU & GV INT House banking sub-committee meeting in progress (4 shots)
1.05

4.
SCU Rep. Fernand St. Germain (D) Rhode Island speaking
1.22

5.
GV & CU Overdraft report on Lance
1.34

6.
GV Official car arriving at Lance residence
1.41

7.
SCU Bert Lance, Budget Director, speaking
1.58

8.
GV Lance entering car and driving to his office
2.16

9.
GV ZOOM TO Window of his office
2.35


TRANSCRIPT: REPORTER: "At the White House there was no ringing defence for Bert Lance. Nineteen days ago President Carter said 'Bert, I'm proud of you.' But today after his meeting with Panama's President Torrijos his words were different."



SEQ. 2: CARTER: "I've responded with appreciation to Senators Ribicoff and Percy for their early convening of the senate committee for an expeditious presentation of all the allegations that have been made against Bert Lance and for giving him a chance to respond to them and what I want is for it to be concluded quickly, and for all the facts to be presented to the American people and to the Congress and me."



REPORTER: "To the house banking sub-committee, Robert Bloom, deputy controller of the currency, revealed that Lance's use of his Georgia bank airplane for campaign purposes is being investigated by the Justice Department to see if there are grounds for prosecution. The sub-committee chairman said that Lance also mis-used his position as Bank president in other ways, when he campaigned for Governor of Georgia in 1974."



BLOOM: "They used the bank's computers to put out computerised letters. They took bank personnel out. No wonder the bank had problems, and put them on a campaign payroll to work for the campaign. They used it to finance the campaign interest free."



REPORTER: "Besides use of the bank airplane, the Justice Department also is investigating Lance's overdraft from his bank accounts during the campaign which, according to charts amounted to half a million dollars at one time. Six-twenty-five this morning, when his official car arrived Lance seemed more irritated, less jolly, than usual."



LANCE: "I'm gonna appear before the Senate committee and answer and all charges that've been levelled at me. I happen to think that oughta be the American way and I think that the American people believe in a sense of fairness and they want me to have my chance to answer the charges and that's what I intend to do and then get back about the business of running OMB (The Office of Management) and Budget)."



REPORTER: "Another close friend of the President suggested to me today that the Lance case now poses such a problem for President Carter that Lance should quit, but Lance says he does not feel the case has hurt Mr. Carter. 6.56 am, he arrived at the Executive Office Building. No one met him. So Bert Lance spent almost the entire day at his office, out of the public view, but not out of the public mind."




Initials JS/2225


TELERECORDING
REPORTER: IRVING R. LEVINE

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: In the United States, President Carter has been coming under growing pressure over charges that his budget director, Bert Lance, has been guilty of illegal activities. But, while he still hasn't expressed any judgement on evidence of the alleged illegalities, he has changed has tone on the subject. From Washington a report by NBC's Irving Levine.