GOP Demands Probe of Wright for Comments on CIA

House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.), already the focus of GOP criticism for his personal financial dealings and his contacts with Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega, is once again coming under intense political fire from Republicans--this time for allegedly disclosing secret information earlier this week.

On Thursday, Sen. William S. Cohen (R-Me.), the influential vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, joined the chorus of Republicans and Reagan Administration officials who have condemned the Speaker for saying that the CIA attempted to “provoke an overreaction on the part of the Nicaraguan government” against opposition leaders during peace negotiations. House GOP leaders have even demanded a formal investigation.

Since he became the nation’s top Democratic officeholder two years ago, Wright has been a lightning rod for GOP criticism. House Republicans are especially eager to capitalize on Wright’s alleged mistakes because the Speaker has run that chamber with an unusually firm hand that often works against the minority.

The controversy arises at a time when Wright already is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly using his position to enrich himself and his Texas cronies. The Speaker has also been accused repeatedly by the White House over the last year of offering advice to the Sandinista government during peace negotiations with the Nicaraguan resistance.

Ironically, the current fuss over whether Wright disclosed classified information has all but obscured his accusation against the CIA. So far, the Speaker’s Republican critics have not denied Wright’s charge.

Wright’s statement, which he made during a news conference Tuesday, might have gone virtually unnoticed had he not attributed his information to “clear testimony from CIA people”--suggesting that he was quoting from testimony by agency officials before the House Intelligence Committee.

As Cohen noted, virtually all testimony by CIA officials before the House and Senate intelligence committees is considered highly classified. Members of Congress are bound by the rules of the House and Senate never to disclose the information.

“A breach of these responsibilities is, therefore, a serious and debilitating event--serious in that U.S. national security interests may be compromised and debilitating in that confidence in Congress as a responsible partner in matters of national security is shaken,” Cohen said.

Although Wright refuses to discuss what House committee received this testimony, he strongly argued Thursday that he did nothing more than discuss information already on the public record. To prove his point, he issued a packet of newspaper clippings detailing CIA activity within Nicaragua.

One of the stories by United Press International reported that the CIA had spent between $10 million and $12 million from a special account earmarked for Nicaragua’s internal opposition. The report quoted State Department and CIA officials.

“I didn’t say anything that was revealed to me as classified information,” Wright asserted, referring to the UPI story.

In addition, his aides contended that, because Wright never attended an Intelligence Committee hearing in which the CIA activities were discussed, he was under no obligation to refrain from discussing the matter.

Nevertheless, Cohen asserted that the Speaker’s remarks would have “considerable repercussions” in Managua.

“For those members of the internal opposition already in prison, they may stay there a little longer or even indeed suffer a harsher fate,” he said. “For the Sandinistas, they will likely seize upon the Speaker’s statement to justify their past repressive actions, as well as future ones.”

In letters to the House intelligence and ethics committees on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) and Rep. Dick Cheney (R-Wyo.) formally requested investigations by those two panels of Wright’s alleged disclosure of secret information. Neither committee has publicly responded to the requests.