Sessions Rejects Critical Report as Riddled With ‘Errors in Fact’

FBI Director William S. Sessions on Tuesday dismissed as riddled with “errors in fact and mistaken conclusions” a highly critical Justice Department report that accuses him of using his office for personal gain.

In a three-page statement, drawn up with the help of private attorneys, Sessions said that he had conducted himself “in accordance with the law and with uncompromised ethical standards” and that he “will continue to do so.”

By rejecting the results of the investigation, which were accepted by Atty. Gen. William P. Barr on his last day in office Friday, Sessions is in the unusual position of challenging the orders of his immediate superior.

Among its key findings, the 161-page report said that Sessions set up official appointments to justify charging the government for personal trips, improperly billed the FBI nearly $10,000 for a fence around his home, spent almost eight times the $5,000 limit to redecorate his FBI office, participated in a “sham” to avoid paying taxes on the value of his limousine service and violated counterintelligence regulations by giving two Russian Kirov Ballet dancers a ride in an FBI car and failing to report the contact.

The report also cites Sessions for refusing to turn over documents pertaining to the $375,000 mortgage on his Washington home--which investigators suspect involved a “sweetheart deal.” In defending his refusal, Sessions said he was following the advice of his attorneys and called the inquiry “totally unwarranted.”

“There seemed to be no end to the search into my privacy,” he said. James R. Phelps, Sessions’ lawyer, said he would have to consult with his client before discussing whether the FBI director intends to obey Barr’s orders to turn over the mortgage documents and reimburse the government for back taxes and unwarranted expenses. Phelps said there seems to be no avenue for appealing the findings of the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

But he acknowledged that Sessions could seek a reprieve from President Clinton or Atty. Gen.-designate Zoe Baird, if she is confirmed.

In his statement, Sessions said the investigation “has been conducted without the barest elements of fairness and (has been) marked by press leaks calculated to defame me.”

On the finding that he improperly avoided paying taxes on the value of his office-to-home limousine service, for example, Sessions said he used the armor-plated car at the insistence of his security detail. “If it is true that the exemption (from taxes) was not warranted, then I will of course pay the taxes,” he said.