U.S. Says It Won’t Bar Waldheim as Visitor

White House spokesman Larry Speakes said today that Kurt Waldheim, as Austrian chief of state, is exempt from a U.S. law that bars anyone who participated in World War II Nazi persecutions from entering the United States.

A Justice Department spokesman said earlier that the exemption would apply only for as long as Waldheim is president.

Speakes, asked to respond to Sunday’s election in Austria, said: “The people of Austria have made their choice in a free and democratic election. The United States will continue our close, friendly relations with Austria.”

The White House spokesman said the United States is still obliged to pursue an investigation of allegations concerning Waldheim’s Nazi past “to see if the legislation applies.”

“But someone who is a chief of state is exempt from this legislation,” he added.

Asked for President Reagan’s view of the allegations against Waldheim, Speakes noted that the matter was under investigation by the Justice Department and said Reagan “has not prejudged the allegations.”

He said Reagan planned to send “the usual diplomatic letter” to the new president later in the day.

Following an investigation two months ago of allegations that Waldheim committed war crimes while stationed in the Balkans during World War II, Neal Sher, director of the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations, recommended that Waldheim be put on a watch list.

A 1978 law allows the United States to exclude aliens who were associated with the Nazi government and in any way participated in the mass executions of Jews and other ethnic groups during World War II.

Justice Department officials said last week that no decision on whether to bar Waldheim would be made until after they had met with Waldheim’s lawyers to give them a chance to rebut charges against him.