Reno Is Urged to Release Finance Probe Memos
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WASHINGTON — On the eve of a hearing, a House committee chairman put last-minute pressure Monday on Atty. Gen. Janet Reno to release memos saying an independent counsel should investigate campaign fund-raising.
“The hopeless conflicts inherent in your continued investigation of these matters undermines public confidence in this investigation both within and outside of the department,” said Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) in a letter to Reno.
Burton’s Government Reform and Oversight Committee is scheduled today to hear from FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and Charles G. LaBella, former chief of the Justice Department’s campaign finance task force.
Burton already has threatened to hold Reno in contempt of Congress if she refuses to turn over the memos from Freeh and LaBella.
Both memos urge Reno to hand over the campaign finance investigation to an independent counsel. Reno so far has refused to request one, despite increased pressure from Republicans.
Justice Department officials have argued that turning over the documents, which also contain secret grand jury evidence, could jeopardize the task force’s ongoing investigations. Justice Department spokesman Bert Brandenburg gave no immediate response.
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