Reviewing Meese Move for Special Counsels in Such Inquiries : Thornburgh Unsure on Congress Probes

Atty. Gen. Richard L. Thornburgh voiced serious reservations Tuesday about ex-Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III’s order subjecting Congress to independent counsel investigations and praised Justice Department units now conducting such inquiries.

In an interview on his second full day in the nation’s top law enforcement job, Thornburgh emphasized that he has made no decision on reversing Meese’s controversial last order, but he underscored his long-standing concern about permitting “any proliferation” of outside prosecutors.

“It’s no secret I feel there should be a very limited role for independent counsels,” Thornburgh said in the interview.

“My sense is that the public integrity section (of the department’s criminal division) and the U.S. attorneys of late have done a very good job with prosecuting such cases,” he said. Normally, allegations of wrongdoing by congressmen are investigated by U.S. attorneys.

Issues Last-Minute Order

On Aug. 12, just hours before he left office, Meese, who was investigated by two independent counsels during his seven years in the Reagan Administration, issued an order establishing a new system of “special counsels” to investigate wrongdoing by members of Congress.

After noting that Congress put the executive branch, but not itself, under the 1978 Ethics in Government Act’s provision for independent counsels to investigate possible wrongdoing, Meese said that it “makes good sense” to have all high officials covered by the same general procedures.

Meese said that Thornburgh had endorsed the action, but the new attorney general said Tuesday that he did not question the move at the time “because I hadn’t had the opportunity to review with others what the basis for the order was.” That review is now under way, he said.

“I owe Ed Meese a thorough review,” Thornburgh said. “None of these orders is fixed or irrevocable. You have to weigh your confidence in the department’s career people versus establishing a kind of superstructure. I want to be fair to the interested parties, including Mr. Meese.”

‘You Lead by Example’

As for the ethical standards an attorney general should follow--a point on which Meese was repeatedly criticized--Thornburgh said: “You lead by example in that area. I hope people know what my instincts have been. If people have any doubts about this, they will soon find out.”

Thornburgh, who headed the department’s criminal division during the Gerald R. Ford Administration, said that he had “purposely” not read the 814-page report on Meese by independent counsel James C. McKay because he will “have to deal with it in my official capacity.”

The report is now being reviewed by Michael E. Shaheen Jr., the department’s counsel for professional responsibility, to determine whether Meese committed any ethical violations. Shaheen could recommend reopening the criminal investigation, issuing a censure or taking no action. McKay’s report concluded that Meese apparently had violated tax laws but that no prosecution was warranted.

Thornburgh noted that “the hallmark of (Shaheen’s) office is its independence” and said he had not discussed the matter with Shaheen--the only person to hold the watchdog job since it was created when Thornburgh was last at the department. “His report will be on my desk when it’s on my desk.”

Other department sources said that the report is not likely to be completed until after Labor Day.

When asked if he would be a leading candidate for attorney general if Vice President George Bush is elected, the former two-term governor of Pennsylvania said: “If I do a good job, I might be.” But Thornburgh added that “it would be presumptuous of me in the extreme” to suggest that he should have the appointment.

Knows Bush Since 1970s

Thornburgh said he got to know the vice president when Bush headed the Central Intelligence Agency in the mid-1970s, the period when Thornburgh was assistant attorney general in charge of the criminal division. “I developed a great respect and affection” for Bush, he said. “But we’ll have to let the future take care of itself.”

When asked if he supported Democratic proposals in Congress for creation of a government-wide “drug czar” to lead the campaign against narcotics smuggling, Thornburgh smiled and said: “You’re looking at the drug czar of the moment.

“As attorney general, I’m comfortable chairing the (interagency) drug policy board,” he said, adding that the concept is similar to that of a “czar.”

“I think the mechanism is appropriate, to bring together Cabinet departments to make sure there are no gaps or overlaps,” he remarked. He refused to comment on specific congressional proposals.

But cracking down on drug traffickers will be his “No. 1 priority,” Thornburgh said.

When asked if William Bradford Reynolds, Meese’s controversial civil rights chief, would continue to head that division, Thornburgh said that he is still reviewing personnel decisions with members of his staff. However, he said no one should question his own deep commitment to civil rights.

“I have a good working relationship with the civil rights community,” the attorney general said. “No one should have any doubt that Dick Thornburgh will undertake a vigorous enforcement of the civil rights laws.”