[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E905]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHOULD LISTEN TO FBI DIRECTOR FREEH

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                        HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 13, 1997

  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the evidence and implications keep piling 
up around President Clinton's administration regarding fundraising 
abuses which potentially led to breaches of national security and 
economic espionage. I know I have been heard many times in this section 
of the Record and during various congressional debates, but that is 
only because of the grave concern I have about the depth of the 
potential foreign influence and infiltration into our Government. And I 
don't doubt that there are many people of all political persuasions who 
share my concerns based on these developments.
  I feel I can say that Mr. Speaker because I know that Director Freeh 
of the FBI has been investigating these very serious matters for months 
and hopes to get to the roots of the scheme both here and abroad. 
Another reason I feel we have reached a sort of critical mass is 
because of the response of the media over the last 6 months or more who 
have helped uncover and draw attention to the dealings of fellows like 
John Huang, Charlie Trie, and Johnny Chung within this administration, 
the White House, and the Democratic National Committee. Included is the 
New York Times who has repeatedly called for an independent counsel, 
almost as much as I have, to investigate these matters. The bottom line 
is, we are dealing with what is turning out to be a sensitive 
investigation of our national security and economic security that may 
have been compromised for political gain. We need to remove those 
politics and handle it with the seriousness of purpose it deserves and 
I hope the President and his Attorney General, Janet Reno, would feel 
the same. And they don't have to listen to me, they can listen to 
Director Freeh and the following editorial from the New York Times 
which I would like to submit to the Record.

                 [From the New York Times, May 9, 1997]

                       Good Advice From Mr. Freeh

       According to numerous news accounts, the head of the 
     Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louis Freeh, has given 
     Attorney General Janet Reno some sound advice for carrying 
     out her duty in the White House fund-raising scandals. 
     Unfortunately, Ms. Reno still refuses to heed it, despite the 
     mounting damage to the Justice Department's reputation and 
     her own.
       Mr. Freeh has urged Ms. Reno to seek the appointment of an 
     independent counsel to conduct the investigation into 
     possibly corrupt fund-raising practices in President 
     Clinton's 1996 re-election drive. He cited the gravity and 
     sprawling nature of the case, plus early evidence pointing to 
     high-level White House involvement. In addition to offering 
     this wise counsel, the F.B.I. Director has just shown his 
     concern about the widening campaign-finance inquiry by more 
     than doubling the number of bureau employees assigned to it.
       Of course, Mr. Freeh's agency faces its own internal 
     problems, and in advising the Attorney General of the need 
     for an independent counsel, he was only relaying what has 
     been apparent for months now, and not just to Republican 
     partisans in Congress. Still, it is reassuring to know that 
     at least someone high up in the Justice Department 
     understands the serious nature and sensitivity of the White 
     House fund-raising mess, and the unavoidable conflict of 
     interest it has created for Ms. Reno and the Justice 
     Department.
       Less reassuring is Ms. Reno's response. In defending her 
     refusal to seek an independent counsel, she has expressed 
     confidence in the expertise and judgment of law enforcement 
     professionals within the Justice Department's criminal 
     division. These professionals have argued against shifting 
     the investigation from their control to an outside 
     prosecutor, based on a dubious reading of the known evidence 
     and the applicable campaign-finance laws. Now it turns out 
     that Mr. Freeh, one of the nation's highest-ranking law 
     enforcement officials, has been offering precisely the 
     opposite advice.
       Yesterday Ms. Reno tried to downplay the significance of 
     this conflict within her department over the need for an 
     independent counsel. But she has yet to give a convincing 
     explanation of why she has chosen to reject Mr. Freeh's 
     counsel.
       Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican and chairman of the 
     Judiciary Committee, who sparred with Ms. Reno at a hearing 
     last week, said he was not surprised by Mr. Freeh's stance. 
     ``Who better than the F.B.I. Director could determine whether 
     there are `grounds to investigate' whether senior White House 
     officials were implicated in violations of the law? '' Mr. 
     Hatch asked by way of making a point that Ms. Reno must at 
     long last grasp.

     

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