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Burton Committee's Top Lawyer Quits

Turf battle prompts John P. Rowley's departure; White House expresses its concern about the chances for a fair inquiry

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 2) -- The chief lawyer of the House committee looking into campaign finance abuses abruptly quit on Tuesday, saying he did not have the authority to conduct a "professional, credible investigation."

Chief Counsel John P. Rowley's departure injected more uncertainty into the House investigation, which has been wracked by partisan disputes among committee members. Two senior investigators also stepped aside, and the White House expressed concern over the resignations.

In his resignation letter, Rowley said he came to the committee "with the intention of running a professional, credible investigation," but had not been "given the authority necessary" to accomplish that.

Rowley, a former federal prosecutor, blamed the senior committee aide who supervises the investigative staff, Dave Bossie, for his departure. Bossie, who was not available for comment, has been a target of committee Democrats in the past.

"Due to the unrelenting 'self-promoting' actions of the committee's investigative coordinator, I have been unable to implement the standards of professional conduct I have been accustomed to at the United States attorney's office," Rowley wrote in his letter to Rep. Dan Burton, the Indiana Republican who chairs the committee.

Earlier this spring, Democrats on the House committee accused Bossie, a former investigator for a conservative Republican group, of undue partisanship. Members said then they did not trust that he would protect confidential tax information of Democratic and Democratic-leaning groups.

Committee spokesman Will Dwyer told The Associated Press that Burton had accepted Rowley's resignation and thanked him for his work.

"The chairman said that any personnel changes would neither slow nor interfere with the progress of the investigation," Dwyer told the AP.

Two investigators, Edward Timperlake and John Rodio, also stepped down. Timperlake, who joined Burton's staff earlier this year, said, "I completely trust the integrity, judgment and leadership" of Rowley.

Rowley joined the committee six months ago as lead counsel, investigating allegations of foreign donations to the Democratic National Committee and other alleged fund-raising abuses during last year's elections.

White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry, reacting to the resignations, said today that anyone interested in a fair and balanced inquiry into campaign finance should be "flabbergasted" by the abrupt departure of the House committee staff members.

McCurry told reporters it should be a concern when a former U.S. attorney says he is not able to conduct an investigation in a professional manner, and suggested it was a matter for Burton to address and correct.

McCurry also said that White House counsel Charles Ruff is reviewing a request from Burton that the administration ask China to aid with the return of a key figure in the campaign finance investigation, Charlie Trie, a former Little Rock restrauteur and Democratic fund-raiser.

McCurry added that the White House does not have the resources to hunt down Trie and return him to the U.S. "That is a law enforcement question," McCurry said.

When asked if the White House had engaged in preemptive "document dumps" to steal the thunder of the congressional fund-raising investigations, McCurry said that the White House has been, and will be, very cooperative with the committees and with the media in providing documents.

A Senate committee chaired by Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) also is investigating political fund-raising and is set to begin hearings on Tuesday. The House committee has not scheduled hearings yet.