Bill Reinstating Independent Counsels OKd, Sent to Clinton

The House on Tuesday passed and sent to President Clinton legislation to reinstate the law authorizing independent counsels to investigate alleged wrongdoing by top federal officials.

The 317 to 105 vote on the measure, which Clinton is expected to sign, would restore the regular procedure used in 13 investigations since 1978 to avoid apparent conflicts of interest. The Senate approved the bill last month.

The independent counsel statute lapsed in 1992 because of a Republican filibuster in the Senate and was unavailable in January when Atty. Gen. Janet Reno chose Robert B. Fiske Jr. as special counsel for the Whitewater inquiry.

The legislation would continue the procedure under the old law of requiring an attorney general to conduct a preliminary investigation of allegations against any of 60 top officials, including the President and Cabinet members. If “reasonable grounds” for further investigation were found, the attorney general would have to ask a special panel of three federal judges to name an independent counsel to conduct the inquiry.

Republican lawmakers complained Tuesday that a House-Senate conference had inserted into the final version of the bill a provision that would allow the three-judge panel to name Fiske to continue his investigation as an independent counsel.

Rep. George W. Gekas (R-Pa.) suggested that the exemption was intended to make Clinton and “members of the White House” whom Fiske may be investigating eligible to have their legal fees reimbursed retroactively.