[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 19 (Thursday, February 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1353-S1354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE NOMINATION OF ANTHONY LAKE

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, there has been considerable discussion in 
the public media and otherwise about the pending nomination of the 
Director of the CIA with the President having submitted the name of 
National Security Adviser Anthony Lake.
  Last year the Senate Intelligence Committee did an extensive inquiry 
into a matter involving the sale of Iranian arms to Bosnia which 
involved Mr. Lake. I have written a ``Dear Colleague'' letter which I 
would like to read into the Record, and I ask unanimous consent that, 
at the conclusion of my statement, the Intelligence Committee report, a 
bipartisan report although there were some dissents, be printed in the 
Record.
  We are checking to see how much of that may be printed in the Record 
under the rules.
  The ``Dear Colleague'' letter which I am submitting today is as 
follows:

       Dear Colleague: Since the media is filled with commentary 
     about National Security Adviser Anthony Lake's nomination to 
     be CIA Director and a pro-Lake ``Dear Colleague'' letter has 
     been circulated, I consider it important to give my fellow 
     senators and others my thinking from last year's Intelligence 
     Committee hearings, which I chaired, on his activities in 
     connection with the sale of Iranian arms to Bosnia.
       In my opinion, an indispensable qualification to be CIA 
     Director is a mindset to keep Congress fully and currently 
     informed on intelligence matters. Mr. Lake acknowledges he 
     was a part of a plan by officials of the State Department and 
     National Security Council to conceal from Congress and other 
     key Executive Branch officials a new Administration policy to 
     give a ``green light'' on the sale of Iranian arms to Bosnia 
     when a U.S. and UN embargo prohibited it.
       Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, Chairman of the 
     Joint Chiefs of Staff John M. Shalikashvili and CIA Director 
     R. James Woolsey told the Senate Intelligence Committee they 
     knew nothing about that ``green light'' or the change in U.S. 
     policy.
       In concluding that Congress should have been informed about 
     this matter, the bipartisan Intelligence Committee report 
     stated:
       ``By keeping from Congress the full truth about U.S. 
     policy, the Executive branch effectively limited Congress's 
     ability to responsibly debate and legislate on the Bosnia 
     issue.''

     Rejecting the argument that the matter involved traditional 
     diplomatic activity, the bipartisan Intelligence Committee 
     report stated:
       ``But it was not traditional diplomatic activity to: (1) 
     give a response to a foreign head of state which effectively 
     contradicted stated U.S. policy on isolating a country, in 
     this case Iran, against which U.S. law imposed sanctions; (2) 
     implicity turn a blind eye to activity that violated a United 
     Nations Security Council resolution which the United States 
     had supported and was obligated to obey; and (3) direct a 
     U.S. Ambassador not to make a written report of a 
     conversation with a foreign head of state.''
       Even though I heard Mr. Lake's version during the 
     Intelligence Committee's proceedings and have talked to him 
     in a private meeting since his nomination, I believe he is 
     entitled to be heard at his confirmation hearing before a 
     final judgment is made on his nomination.
       I strongly disagree with the practice of abandoning 
     nominees like Lani Guinier, Douglas Ginsburg and Zoe Baird or 
     reaching a conclusion on their nominations until they have 
     had their day in court. If we are to persuade able people to 
     come into government, nominees are entitled to state their 
     case in Senate hearings so that the charges will not stand 
     alone without an appropriate opportunity to respond.
       It is beside the point that the Department of Justice 
     concluded Mr. Lake did not commit perjury or obstruction of 
     justice in the inquiries on the sale of Iranian arms to 
     Bosnia. There never was any basis, in my opinion, for the 
     referral by the House Committee on those issues.
       Nor am I concerned about the ancient history of Mr. Lake's 
     so-called leftist activities which have drawn considerable 
     attention. I had thought the stock sale issue was of lesser 
     importance until he agreed to pay a $5,000 fine, so that 
     issue calls for an inquiry; and it may be that other 
     questions merit investigation such as the recent report that 
     a member of his staff engaged in fundraising.
       There is no doubt that Mr. Lake is a man of considerable 
     ability, and I do not question the sincerity of his motives 
     in acting in what he considered to be in the national 
     interest on the Bosnia issue. But the critical question 
     remains as to whether Mr. Lake can be counted upon to keep 
     the Congress currently and fully informed.
       The Congress must have positive assurance on that issue in 
     the light of a half century's experience with the CIA 
     including the Iran Contra affair.

  And this ``Dear Colleague'' letter is signed by me and circulated to 
my colleagues.
  In order to have a complete understanding of this issue, which as I 
say I consider to be central to whether Mr. Lake ought to be confirmed 
as Director of the CIA, it is necessary to review in some detail and in 
some depth the bipartisan report filed by the Intelligence Committee. I 
advise my colleagues that the report is available from the Intelligence 
Committee, and encourage all Senators to read it.
  I thank the Chair, yield the floor, and suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.

[[Page S1354]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Alaska is recognized to speak for up to 10 minutes.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I have several things I want to discuss 
this morning. I have some charts, and I want to proceed as the charts 
are put up.

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