Reagan Unsure on Signing of Prosecutor Bill

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said today that President Reagan has not decided whether he will sign legislation re-authorizing the appointment of special prosecutors such as those investigating the Iran- contra scandal.

Fitzwater told reporters, however, that White House officials believed some language in a Justice Department letter citing the Administration’s position on the issue was “contentious and intemperate.”

Under sharp questioning, Fitzwater insisted that while Reagan shares Justice Department reservations about the constitutionality of the law, the President “supports the work of the independent counsels. . . .”

Calling for Veto

The Justice Department said Tuesday that it will urge Reagan to veto a bill re-authorizing the Independent Counsel Act, complaining that “nothing is too trivial for these people to investigate.” (Story on Page 7.)

Several special prosecutor investigations are under way, including one that is scrutinizing Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III’s connections to Wedtech Corp.

Fitzwater said the letter that was sent to Capitol Hill spelling out the Administration’s position on re-authorization of the law had been sent to the White House for review and had been scrutinized by the Office of Management and Budget and the office of White House counsel Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr.

“We commented that some of the language was contentious and intemperate, and should be changed . . . and I can’t say why it wasn’t,” he said.

Language Not Specified

The spokesman refused to cite what language White House officials found objectionable, and said that while “we wouldn’t have chosen (some of) the language, we’re in agreement with the basic concerns in the letter.”

Two former Reagan Administration figures, Oliver North and Michael Deaver, have mounted court challenges to the constitutionality of the law, but Fitzwater said the Justice Department’s letter was written only to meet a request by members of Congress for a statement of the Administration’s position on the act. He said it wasn’t intended to buttress the North and Deaver challenges.

Fitzwater also stressed that “the question of a veto” by Reagan of legislation re-authorizing the act “has not been decided.”