Meese Assails Ex-Aides for Urging Probe of His Affairs

Outgoing Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III today criticized two of his former top aides who said that a special independent counsel should investigate Meese’s conduct in office.

Meese attacked former Deputy Atty. Gen. Arnold I. Burns and former assistant Atty. Gen. William F. Weld for concluding there was enough evidence to warrant a criminal probe into his ties to the scandal-plagued Wedtech Corp.

“The evidence now shows that if a competent and thorough preliminary investigation had been directed by (Burns and Weld), there would likely have been no cause even for referral to an independent counsel,” Meese said in a speech to the National Press Club.

After a nearly 14-month investigation, independent counsel James McKay said in a recently released report that Meese probably broke the law four times but that there was insufficient evidence to successfully prosecute him.

The report, more than 800-pages long, also raised questions about Meese’s ethical conduct.

Burns and Weld resigned from their Justice Department posts in March, expressing concern that Meese’s continued leadership of the agency was tarnishing its image and hurting its operations.

Scheduled to Testify

Meese’s criticism came the day before Burns and Weld were scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the reasons for their resignation.

Weld, who was chief of the criminal division, reportedly told Meese and President Reagan that he would have sought Meese’s indictment if he had been the prosecutor in the case.

Meese denounced the “leak” of Weld’s view.

He said Weld and Burns decided to seek the independent counsel’s investigation based on allegations by what he described as “criminals” in New York who were seeking leniency from government prosecutors.

Meese was apparently referring to former Wedtech executives who pleaded guilty to bribery and other charges of illegally influencing government officials to win lucrative contracts.

Most of McKay’s investigation centered on actions Meese took as a government official that benefited his longtime friend and former lawyer, E. Robert Wallach, who was representing Wedtech.

Wallach Indicted

Wallach has been indicted in New York on charges of attempting to illegally influence Meese and other government officials in helping win an Army contract for Wedtech.