Republicans Pressure Reno For Independent Counsel (3/5/97)
Reno: Independent Counsel Not Needed Yet (2/27/97)
U.S. Department of Justice -- Janet Reno Biography
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Reno Calls White House-FBI Dispute A Misunderstanding
It won't trigger appointment of an independent counsel, she says
By Terry Frieden/CNN
WASHINGTON (March 12) -- Attorney General Janet Reno today said the dispute between the White House and FBI over a sensitive briefing on China was the result of a miscommunication and misunderstanding, and it "does not have anything to do with campaign finance and does not in any way trigger the independent counsel statute."
Testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, Reno said that "what we have to do is insure that in the future, briefings are done with precision and leave no miscommunication."
Reno did not criticize either the FBI or the White House over the dispute, but said that the White House staff people decided not to forward the FBI information. President Bill Clinton complained earlier this week he was not told about FBI warnings of a possible Chinese government plan to contribute to U.S. political campaigns.
When asked by subcommittee chairman Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) why she doesn't seek appointment of independent counsel, Reno restated her previous position that she had not received from Justice Department lawyers indication of any specific and credible evidence that a crime has been committed.
Reno has been under increasing pressure to appoint an independent counsel to examine campaign fund-raising abuses, mostly from Republicans, but also from some leading Democrats.