Time: Mon Jul 21 16:41:36 1997 by primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id QAA09435 for [address in tool bar]; Mon, 21 Jul 1997 16:24:04 -0700 (MST) by usr06.primenet.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id QAA22212; Mon, 21 Jul 1997 16:10:46 -0700 (MST) Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 16:10:15 -0700 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar] Subject: SLS: RENO SUBVERTING PROBE (fwd) <snip> > >Sunday July 20 6:20 PM EDT > >Senator: Justice Dept. obstructs info. > >WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) _ Judicial Watch, a Washington-based >watchdog group, says Senator Thad Cochran, R-Miss., a member >of the Government Affairs Committee investigating the campaign >finance scandal, confirmed on CBS's Face the Nation program >(Sunday) the group's longstanding position that Attorney >General Janet Reno is subverting the probe. Cochran told United >Press International the Department of Justice is preventing >the committee from getting information from the FBI on this >investigation. > > >jqp@globaldialog.com wrote: >> >> Sen.: Justice, FBI Hinder DNC Probe >> >> ASSOCIATED PRESS >> >> WASHINGTON (AP)--A Senate committee has been >> unable to determine whether China influenced U.S. >> elections because the Justice Department and the >> FBI hindered the campaign-finance probe, a Republican >> panel member said Sunday. >> >> "There has been an obstruction of the free flow >> of information from the intelligence community >> to the committee and from the Department of Justice >> investigators to the committee by people in the >> Department of Justice," Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran >> said on CBS' "Face the Nation." >> >> Cochran, a member of the Senate Governmental Affairs >> Committee investigating campaign fund raising, >> accused Justice of changing a letter submitted >> to the committee by the FBI director, stonewalling >> questions and unnecessarily rejecting immunization >> from prosecution for certain witnesses. >> >> Justice Department spokesman Bert Brandenburg said >> when criminal and congressional investigations >> overlap, lawmakers often become frustrated "when >> the Justice Department does its job." >> >> "Our job is to investigate allegations of criminal >> wrongdoing," Brandenburg said. >> >> Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., appearing on CNN's "Late >> Edition," called Cochran's accusations "innuendos >> and extreme statements." Levin said the focus should >> be on the "broken" campaign finance system, which >> encourages the pursuit of unregulated "soft money" >> to finance political work. >> >> "It's another serious charge shipped out there >> without the supporting evidence. And that's where >> we've got to be careful," Levin said. >> >> Cochran said a Justice official who testified before >> the committee admitted he changed a letter submitted >> by FBI Director Louis Freeh. >> >> "He admitted that this was his letter and that >> it was not the letter, the same letter, that the >> FBI director had written to the committee," Cochran >> said. >> >> Justice's Brandenburg countered that Cochran apparently >> referred to a letter from the Justice Department >> to the committee about a week ago. He said Freeh >> wrote the first draft, language was added, and >> Freeh approved the final version. >> >> "It's incorrect to say any language was altered, >> " Brandenburg said. >> >> Cochran also complained that Justice Department >> officials repeatedly refused to answer questions >> about individuals who might have helped raise illegal >> money on the ground that it might compromise their >> investigations. >> >> Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., on "Face the Nation" >> with Cochran, said that as a former law enforcement >> officer, he understands the reluctance of the FBI >> to answer questions related to its own investigations. >> >> "Senators are not notoriously good secret keepers, >> " said Lieberman, once Connecticut's attorney general. >> "If I was back being in law enforcement ..., and >> I had an ongoing case, I'd be careful about how >> much I shared. I think that's only good law enforcement." >> >> Cochran and other senators also criticized the >> Justice Department as moving too slowly to grant >> immunity as a tool for eliciting testimony from >> witnesses. >> >> They particularly objected to the department's >> reluctance to immunize nuns and monks from a Buddhist >> temple in California where Vice President Al Gore >> attended a fund raiser. Republicans have charged >> that the event was used to launder illegal foreign >> donations to the Democratic Party. >> >> "We think that this is an unnecessary delay, and >> we wonder again who's causing that," Cochran said. >> >> Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, agreed that the delay >> in providing permission for immunity for the witnesses >> has slowed the Senate investigation. >> >> "We are trying to make some very important decisions >> on immunity," Collins said. "The Justice Department >> has not been very clear on why they oppose immunity >> for some of the Buddhist monks and nuns involved >> in the case, who are clearly just victims and would >> never be prosecuted." >> >> White House spokesman Joe Lockhart refused to comment >> on Cochran's charges because the hearings are under >> way. >> >> >> >> ALL CONTENTS COPYRIGHT 1997 LAS VEGAS SUN, INC. >> PORTIONS COPYRIGHT 1997 ASSOCIATED PRESS. > >-------------------------------------------------------------- >Prediction of the decade: "The public will never believe the >innocence of the Clintons & their loyal staff." -- author unknown > > >-> Send "subscribe snetnews " to majordomo@world.std.com >-> Posted by: kalliste@aci.net (J. Orlin Grabbe) > > > ======================================================================== Paul Andrew Mitchell : Counselor at Law, federal witness B.A., Political Science, UCLA; M.S., Public Administration, U.C. Irvine tel: (520) 320-1514: machine; fax: (520) 320-1256: 24-hour/day-night email: [address in tool bar] : using Eudora Pro 3.0.3 on 586 CPU website: http://www.supremelaw.com : visit the Supreme Law Library now ship to: c/o 2509 N. Campbell, #1776 : this is free speech, at its best Tucson, Arizona state : state zone, not the federal zone Postal Zone 85719/tdc : USPS delays first class w/o this As agents of the Most High, we came here to establish justice. We shall not leave, until our mission is accomplished and justice reigns eternal. ======================================================================== [This text formatted on-screen in Courier 11, non-proportional spacing.]
Return to Table of Contents for
Supreme Law School: E-mail