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Reno says China campaign funds probe 'was not impaired'By Terry Frieden/CNN
July 15, 1999 WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 15) -- Attorney General Janet Reno acknowledged Thursday problems in the handling of intelligence on allegations of Chinese contributions to the 1996 Clinton re-election campaign, but said this did not impair the Justice Department probe. Reno's comments came one day after the Justice Department's Inspector General, Michael Bromwich, issued a report criticizing Justice and FBI officials for abandoning standards on sharing sensitive intelligence data to the Republican-controlled Congress. "If the question is 'Was it bungled?' anytime something is delayed you can call that bungling. But I think in terms of the investigation, the investigation itself was not impaired in the end," Reno told reporters at her weekly press briefing. Although the report concluded "no improper intent to conceal information" by law enforcement officials in their briefings to Congress and the National Security Council, it cited a series of communications problems, internal disputes and questionable judgments on sharing information. Reno did not dispute the findings of Bromwich's 18-month internal investigation of possible Chinese efforts to influence U.S. campaigns. Reno said the Justice Department always faces the difficult task of figuring out how to share intelligence information with those who need it, while protecting the sources and methods of the intelligence gathering. "The FBI is and has been exploring what technological advances it can make to ensure the sharing of information while at the same time protecting the information," Reno added. Reno ordered the Inspector General's investigation in November 1997 after congressional Republicans complained FBI investigators were withholding information from lawmakers. That followed CIA disclosure to a Senate panel of FBI counterintelligence information with which neither Reno nor FBI Director Louis Freeh was familiar. The Bromwich report found that in some cases the Justice Department had abandoned its standards, and was too generous in providing uncorroborated raw intelligence data. "In order to satisfy congressional committees' demands for information ... the department adopted a policy of briefing the committees and later the NSC (National Security Council) on information of unknown reliability rather than waiting until that information could be corroborated," the report said. The report criticized the FBI's National Security Division, which conducts counterespionage operations, for "poor judgment" and being overly concerned with protecting intelligence sources at the expense of assisting the Justice Department's Campaign Finance Task Force probing the China connection. An FBI statement welcomed "many of the suggestions" and said it has already taken steps to provide "finished" analyses of raw intelligence data. "Even before the report, the FBI had revised some of its practices to address the matters identified in the report," the agency said. The report also disclosed the FBI and Justice still disagree over whether to brief the White House-controlled NSC on intelligence matters relating to the China funds investigation, because the FBI is concerned about protecting the criminal investigation. It urged officials to resolve the lingering dispute over what to share with the White House. Bromwich, who is resigning as inspector general, released only a 22-page unclassified summary of his 569-page top secret report. The full report was issued to Reno, Freeh, and the Republican chairmen and ranking Democrat on key congressional committees. |
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MORE STORIES:Thursday, July 15, 1999
• Poll: Public slightly favors Democrats in health care debate • Senate rejects patient lawsuit proposal • Bush to forgo federal matching funds • Reno says China campaign funds probe 'was not impaired' • House gives itself pay raise • Clinton discusses gun control with Colorado students • House panel approves GOP tax cut package • Prescription sought for perfect health care system • Congress sends law by e-mail to the White House • Victoria Buckley, top black female Republican, dies at 51 • House panel blocks part of Energy Department budget • Clinton wants stem cell research without changing law • White House hopefuls report new fund-raising numbers • Folksy Gore leaves vice presidential props at home • Bush collects money, endorsements on trip to Virginia, Maryland • House upholds Clinton Administration mining restrictions • Analysis: Senate's new independent may signal Republican split • Mrs. Clinton listens but doesn't have all the answers • Group protests Hadassah award to Hillary Clinton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
