Meese Acts to Defuse ‘Turf War’ Over Fugitive Pursuit

Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III, attempting to settle a bitter internal turf war that has been cited as an example of his inability to solve major Justice Department problems, has set up a mechanism that allows the FBI and the Marshals Service to appeal disagreements over the pursuit of fugitives.

However, sources familiar with Meese’s decision acknowledged Monday that it leaves much of the dispute unresolved, resulting in a policy that can be determined only on a case-by-case basis upon appeal to the Justice Department’s No. 3 official.

The dispute, which arose after increasingly successful fugitive operations by the Marshals Service, erupted early this year when the FBI accused the marshals of hampering its investigations and jeopardizing the safety of its agents with its expanded fugitive hunts. The marshals have said that the FBI has not provided any examples to support its charges.

Distracted by Own Problems

Critics have said that Meese has not been able to adequately deal with the controversy because he is distracted by his own legal and political problems. The attorney general is being investigated by an independent counsel on a number of grounds, chiefly his involvement in a controversial $1-billion Iraqi pipeline project.

“The attorney general made a decision before going to Rome” April 30 for a meeting of the International Assn. of Chiefs of Police, Meese spokesman Terry Eastland said. Meese then told FBI Director William S. Sessions and Marshals Service Director Stanley E. Morris of the ruling.

The initial reaction by the FBI and the Marshals Service toward Meese’s decision indicated that they did not regard it as the final word on the matter.

“This represents very nearly the status quo and we had not sought any change,” said an obviously pleased Stephen T. Boyle, the marshals’ chief spokesman.

“We’re not going to be commenting until we see the particulars,” said Milton Ahlerich, assistant FBI director for congressional and public affairs. “We haven’t seen the actual policy.”

Keating to Referee

In cases in which the two agencies cannot resolve the jurisdictional questions, Acting Associate Atty. Gen. Francis A. Keating now will decide the matter, according to Eastland.

The referee role for Keating, who spent his second day on the job Monday, caused another Justice Department official to quip: “I hope Frank has nothing else to do because he won’t have time for it.”

The FBI will retain jurisdiction over all pre-conviction fugitive investigations, and the marshals will pursue those who flee after being convicted.

In the case of a post-conviction fugitive who becomes a suspect in a new crime, the FBI may ask the marshals to turn the investigation over to them under Meese’s guidelines.

This is an area about which the FBI is highly concerned, contending that the agency has a “substantial investigative interest that can be damaged by other investigations in cases such as bank robberies committed by a person convicted for another crime but not yet imprisoned.

‘Unusual Situations’

In what Eastland described as “unusual situations” where the Marshals Service had made major progress or developed sources it is better equipped to handle, it can ask to assist or retain control in the matter.

The marshals will remain free to lend assistance if it is requested by the agency that has the lead in the investigation. This is not expected to occur frequently with the FBI but is likely to take place often with the Drug Enforcement Administration, which has come to depend on the marshals for apprehending some of its highest-profile fugitives.

Meese’s decision fell far short of the restrictions that the FBI had urged be placed on the marshals’ fugitive operations.