Ehrlich on Washington column, April 20, 1997

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Lutherville, Maryland 2 1 093 Washington, D.C. 205 1 5 Week of April 20, 1997 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. JANET RENO KNOWS BETTER Though Attorney General Janet Reno and I disagree on many issues, I have respected what I perceived to be her strong sense of duty and personal integrity. During congressional hearings into the federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, I acknowledged her as one of the few administration officials to publicly accept responsibility for the tragedy. Last week, however, my faith in the Attorney General was shaken by her refusal to appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate the growing Clinton fundraising scandals. The Attorney General’s decision, in my view, flies in the face of reality. It damages her reputation for fairness and impartiality and, in my view, jeopardizes her ability to perform her duties. Under federal law, two criteria must be met in order for an independent counsel to be appointed. First, the law requires the Attorney General to turn to such a counsel when there is a substantial allegation of wrongdoing against a public official. Based on investigative media reporting and White House documents obtained by congressional committees, I believe this criteria has been more than met. Unfortunately, Attorney General Reno disagrees. She is dodging the bullet through a precise and narrow interpretation of the statute. In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R- UT), she claims there is “no credible evidence” linking top Clinton Administration or campaign officials to illegal fundraising practices. Incredibly, while the Democratic National Committee accepted wholesale contributions from foreign nationals to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, Janet Reno is convinced that the President, her boss, and his senior aides knew absolutely nothing about it.