The Nation : Meese Asked to Quit Until Probes End

Eleven House Judiciary Committee Democrats, including Howard L. Berman of Panorama City, called on Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III to step down temporarily until pending federal investigations into his conduct have been completed. Meese’s spokesman rejected the request. “We strongly believe that your increasing inability to spend time on the day-to-day demands of your job, the deteriorating morale at the Department of Justice, and the continuing cloud over your office are undermining your ability to act effectively as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer,” the Democrats said in a letter. Independent counsel James C. McKay has been examining Meese’s involvement with scandal-plagued Wedtech Corp., a proposed $1-billion Iraqi oil pipeline project and the regional Bell telephone companies at a time when he owned phone stock. Independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh, investigating the Iran-Contra affair, has called Meese before a grand jury numerous times.