White House accused of digging
for dirt on travel office chief

FBI director launches probe

June 6, 1996
Web posted at: 12:15 a.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Republican congressman Wednesday accused the White House of trying to sully the reputation of travel office director Billy Dale by improperly ordering an FBI background check seven months after he had been fired.

Wednesday's disclosure by Rep. William Clinger, R-Pennsylvania, prompted FBI Director Louis Freeh to announce that the agency would launch "a thorough inquiry."

Freeh said the results will be turned over to Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr, who is investigating possible perjury in the statements presidential aides made in the travel office affair.

"Until Congressman Clinger's announcement today, I had no knowledge that the White House had requested and received FBI files on Billy Ray Dale," Freeh said.

Clinger, chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, which has been investigating the firings, said a newly released document shows that former White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum obtained FBI background reports on Dale by claiming he was being considered for renewed access.

Clinger said Nussbaum's request for the reports might have been made under a false pretext and might also be a criminal violation of federal privacy laws.

The checks dated back to Dale's entry into federal service during the Kennedy administration.

Special counsel to the president Jane Sherburne, in a statement released Wednesday evening, said it was a routine request "following the practice of past administrations."

"We have some indication that during the December, 1993, time period White House record-keepers were making an effort to fill in background information folders that were incomplete," Sherburne said. "We believe Mr. Dale's records may have mistakenly been sought as part of this record-keeping effort."

But Clinger suggested the White House was hoping to dig up dirt on Dale to justify his firing.

"The White House was not considering giving Billy Dale access to the White House, so I must assume they wanted the FBI background checks to see if there was anything in Billy Dale's past that could be exploited for political advantage," Clinger said.

Dale's FBI background file turned up in 1,000 pages of documents the White House reluctantly supplied to Clinger's Government Reform and Oversight Committee last week. An index of 2,000 pages of documents that President Clinton claimed were protected by executive privilege was also given to the committee.

Dale and all six of his aides were fired in May 1993 for alleged mishandling of travel money. Dale was charged with embezzlement but found innocent by a jury. The other six were cleared and offered other government jobs.

The travel office makes travel arrangements for the president's staff and the White House press corps.

Related stories:

• White House can't find notes from travel office probe - June 1, 1996
• AllPolitics: A Travelgate Compromise - May 30, 1996
• AllPolitics: In Focus: On the Road to Scandal - March 18, 1996

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