Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 22:58:43 -0700 From: James I. Davis Subject: File 2--More on Inslaw -- Justice Dept response From-- Nigel.Allen@lambada.oit.unc.edu Subject-- U.S. Justice Department Statement on Inslaw Affair To-- Multiple recipients of list ACTIV-L Here is a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Justice Department Releases Statement To: National Desk Contact: U.S. Department of Justice, Public Affairs, 202-514-2007 WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 -- The Department of Justice released today the following statement: Attorney General William P. Barr today told the House Committee on the Judiciary that he will not seek the appointment of an Independent Counsel as requested in a Sept. 10 letter from a majority of the committee's Democratic members. His reasons for this decision were set forth in a letter to the Committee. Under the Independent Counsel statute, only the committee can make these materials public, and the attorney general has asked that it do so. The Sept. 10 letter requested the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate allegations contained in a report adopted by the committee's Democratic majority members entitled, "The Inslaw Affair" (Report). The independent counsel statute was designed to apply to certain exceptional cases. Accordingly, the statute's specialized procedures are triggered in two specifically defined circumstances -- one mandatory and one discretionary. The mandatory provision, 28 U.S.C. 591 (a), requires the attorney general to apply the procedures of the statute if and when he receives specific and credible information sufficient to warrant a criminal investigation of a "covered person." Covered persons' are a small group of the most senior officials in the Executive Branch who are specifically listed in the statute. The discretionary provision of the statute, 28 U.S.C. 591 (c), authorizes, but does not require, the Attorney General to proceed under the statute if: (1) he receives specific and credible information sufficient to warrant a criminal investigation of someone other than a "covered person"; and (2) he determines that an investigation or prosecution of that person by the Attorney General or other officer of the Department "may result in a personal, financial or political conflict of interest." The department has concluded that the report contains no specific information that any "covered person" has committed a crime. Regarding "non-covered" persons, long before the committee completed its report, Attorney General Barr appointed retired U.S. District Judge Nicholas J. Bua as special counsel to investigate all matters related to INSLAW. Judge Bua has had an outstanding judicial career which has spanned almost thirty years. He has served on the county, circuit and appellate courts in Illinois, and in 1977, President Carter appointed him to the U.S. District Court in Chicago. Judge Bua has full authority to conduct a thorough and complete investigation of all INSLAW allegations -- including the power to issue subpoenas and to convene grand juries. He is conducting his investigation in a fair and impartial manner. The attorney general's instructions included from the outset of this investigation for Judge Bua to notify him of any information implicating the independent counsel statute. Judge Bua found no evidence to support invoking the mandatory or discretionary provisions of the independent counsel statute before the report was issued, or since reviewing the report. After an exhaustive review of the allegations, in accordance with the requirements of the statute, the Attorney General will not seek the appointment of an Independent Counsel at this time. The department invites the committee, Congress, or any other source, to provide any new information that warrants invoking the independent counsel statute. ------------------------------ Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253