The Democratic Fund-Raising Flap

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Internal Review Clears FBI Counsel

Justice Department finds poor judgment, but no politics in Shapiro's contacts with the White House

WASHINGTON (March 28) -- An internal Justice Department review has concluded that FBI general counsel Howard Shapiro made a mistake in judgment in providing sensitve information to the White House, but there was no misconduct or political motivation on his part.

A 29-page report released by the Justice Department today says Shapiro "...made a very serious mistake and exhibited very poor judgment" in tipping off the White House, but "...did not engage in professional misconduct" and was "...not motivated by any alleged personal or political ambitions."

The report was compiled by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility. The deputy attorney general's office and an FBI board will now have to determine whether Shapiro should receive any discipline as a result of the findings.

At issue were a series of contacts last year between Shapiro and the White House, including a heads-up that he provided the White House with details of a congressional investigation of the White House's improper handling of FBI files.

At the time, Shapiro told the White House of a document in the possession of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee and Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr that showed former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum saying that first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had personally recommended the hiring of former White House security aide Craig Livingstone.

The White House, the first lady and Nussbaum later denied she had made any such recommendation. Livingstone was forced to resign after disclosure of the handling of hundreds of sensitive FBI files on former Republican officials by the Clinton White House.

The Justice Department report says Shapiro should have made certain that Starr's office had no objection about his advising the White House in advance about the document.

The contacts between Shapiro and the White House were sharply criticized by congressional Republicans and he was forced to apologize to Congress. The contacts also helped create the current climate of strained relations between the FBI and the White House.

Those strains surfaced again this week with reports that FBI Director Louis Freeh withheld information from the National Security Council on China's alleged effort to funnel campaign money into U.S. elections.

Press Secretary Mike McCurry says the White House has imposed strict new guidelines on how to handle sensitive contacts with the Justice Department and the FBI. "If the White House has a need to transact business with the Justice Department or the bureau on any sensitive matter, it is handled by the counsel's office," McCurry said. "It is handled counsel to counsel."