Reno Rejects Special Prosecutor for Brown

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, pledging that the influence-peddling investigation of Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown will be resolved based on “the evidence and the law,” Thursday rejected Republican congressional demands that she appoint a special prosecutor to conduct the investigation.

“If I appoint the person . . , you’re still going to question the conflict as long as I am involved in that process,” Reno said during a regular meeting with reporters. “I’m going to proceed to make sure that the investigation is conducted according to the evidence and the law, regardless of who is involved.”

Her remarks followed a call Wednesday by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) for appointment of a special prosecutor to examine allegations that Brown agreed to accept $700,000 to help ease U.S. trade restrictions against Vietnam. Brown has denied the allegation, which is under study by a federal grand jury in Miami.

Reno said that she is not being briefed on details of the inquiry and had no role in initiating the grand jury investigation.

Reno is the first attorney general to offer strong support for an independent counsel law, under which a special court rather than the attorney general selects an outside prosecutor. She said that cases such as Brown’s--which involve a high-ranking Administration official--are the reason she favors restoring the law, which expired in December.

She made no reference to the fact that Democratic and Republican predecessors, Attys. Gen. Griffin B. Bell and William P. Barr, named special prosecutors to investigate politically sensitive cases under Justice Department regulations rather than going to the special court. Critics of those appointments contended that the prosecutors lacked the independence and near autonomy that a court-appointed counsel enjoys.

Meanwhile, a senior White House aide said that officials there are “riding close herd” on the case.

Brown, in denying the allegation, emphasized that his accuser is “someone who has never met me, never seen me, never claims that he’s seen or met me and he is the only individual who is making this charge.” The accuser, Ly Thanh Binh, a Vietnamese-American businessman, contends that Nguyen Van Hao, a businessman and former Vietnamese government official, offered Brown a $700,000 “retainer fee,” to work toward lifting U.S. trade restrictions.

In August, one of Brown’s spokesmen said that the commerce secretary had never met Hao, a former business associate of Ly. But the spokesman withdrew that statement Tuesday, acknowledging that Brown had met with Hao three times, twice before and once after he was nominated for the Cabinet post. The spokesman attributed the earlier statement to a misunderstanding.

Ly told the Associated Press Thursday that Brown and Hao had a tentative agreement that included, in addition to the $700,000, oil royalties and interests of at least 30% in other business ventures in Vietnam in return for Brown’s efforts to gain trade benefits and financial aid for Vietnam.

Hao has denied ever meeting with Brown. The wire service said that Hao has testified before the grand jury.

Times staff writers David Lauter, Jack Nelson and Paul Richter contributed to this story.