Reno and FBI Director Sessions Discuss Charges Against Him

FBI Director William S. Sessions defended himself from ethical misconduct charges in a hastily scheduled meeting Friday with Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, scheduled because he is going to Europe for a 10-day conference on terrorism.

After the half-hour meeting, also attended by Sessions’ two lawyers and Deputy Atty. Gen.-designate Philip B. Heymann, the FBI director, in a statement, expressed “confidence” that Reno would “fully and fairly consider all of the issues.”

President Clinton has said that he would await Reno’s recommendation before deciding whether to remove Sessions, and Reno said in a recent interview that she would not act until Heymann, who has had long involvement with the FBI, is confirmed by the Senate. His nomination could be acted on by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate by late next week.

It could not be learned whether Reno would hold additional meetings with Sessions. But an Administration source, who declined to be identified, said Heymann was expected to negotiate with Sessions and his lawyers to work out a “soft landing” for the FBI director, who has served a little more than half of his 10-year term.

In the final days of the George Bush Administration, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog unit issued a scathing report that concluded Sessions had used his office for personal gain. But Sessions challenged the charges, blaming it on “animus” toward him by former Atty. Gen. William P. Barr.

The report by the Office of Professional Responsibility, and endorsed by Barr, concluded Sessions had engaged in a “sham” to avoid paying taxes on use of his limousine to and from home. It also found that he arranged out-of-town meetings and other FBI “business” so he could visit family members at government expense.

The report also found that Sessions had refused to cooperate in an investigation to determine if he had received a “sweetheart deal” on his home mortgage and that he improperly billed the FBI for a $10,000 fence around his home.

Justice Department sources, explaining why the meeting was held before Sessions left Washington, said that Reno, who had promised the Senate Judiciary Committee in March to give the matter top priority, wanted to fulfill her commitment to give Sessions a hearing without further delay.

With any action on Sessions still expected to be weeks away, Administration sources are discouraging reports that Clinton is likely to name Massachusetts state Judge Richard G. Stearns, a friend since they roomed together as Rhodes scholars, as FBI director. The sources contend Reno would hesitate to recommend the appointment of a personal friend of the President as head of the nation’s most powerful investigative agency.

A Justice Department source said a leading candidate now is Louis Freeh, a former FBI agent and highly regarded federal prosecutor, who was named a federal judge in New York by President Bush in 1991.