Funding of PAC That Aided Clinton Campaign Probed : Investigation: Special counsel opens inquiry into 1992 contributions by 38 Agriculture Department career employees, possibly in violation of Hatch Act.

A federal watchdog agency said Thursday that it has opened an inquiry into fund-raising activities by high-ranking career employees in the Agriculture Department for a political action committee that supported Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential election bid.

The Office of Special Counsel, which is responsible for maintaining the integrity of the Civil Service system, said that it is investigating whether Agriculture Department employees who allegedly raised funds for the PAC had violated the Hatch Act, which at the time prohibited all solicitation or collection of campaign funds by civil servants. Violations are punishable by job suspension or dismissal.

Thirty-eight senior career employees then working in the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service made contributions of $50 to $500 to the Farmers & Ranchers ’92 PAC, which was established to raise funds from farm interests for Democratic candidates and heavily backed Clinton’s campaign. Some of those approached, most of whom were Democrats, said that they were solicited by colleagues and gave their checks to co-workers.

The inquiry was initiated in response to allegations in a Nov. 21 article in The Times, said officials at the Office of Special Counsel. The Times also reported that many contributors to the PAC--which was co-chaired by then-Rep. Mike Espy, who later was named secretary of agriculture--later received promotions or more desirable jobs under the Clinton Administration. Others, identified as Republicans, were transfered to lower-profile posts.

Espy said through a spokesman that his position with the political action committee was purely honorary and that there was no connection between the contributions--or any employee’s partisan allegiance--and the job changes at the Agriculture Department.

Of the Hatch Act inquiry, Espy’s spokesman, Tom Amontree, said: “We welcome the review.”

In a related matter, Rep. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who is expected to become House Agriculture Committee chairman, said that he has asked Donald C. Smaltz, the independent counsel investigating Espy on other matters, to determine whether any of the allegations in The Times’ story fall within his legal mandate. If not, Roberts said, he will urge Atty. Gen. Janet Reno to launch an inquiry.

“This is a question of undermining the independence of USDA and the Civil Service and the Hatch Act,” Roberts said in an interview. “It is of deep concern to me and to all members of the Agriculture Committee to think that any hard-working civil servant could have been ousted to give a promotion to others whose major qualification was an illicit campaign contribution.”

Smaltz, who was appointed in September to investigate reports that Espy had accepted illegal gratuities from agribusinesses, said that he plans to meet with Roberts today in response to the lawmaker’s request. Espy has announced his resignation, effective Dec. 31.

Amontree emphasized Espy’s limited role with the PAC: “At the time, the secretary was a member of Congress and merely one of eight honorary co-chairs of the organization. The secretary did not participate in any fund-raising or solicit funds for the PAC. . . . “

Among those active with the political action committee was Grant B. Buntrock, a former career Agriculture Department employee who then worked for a national farm organization. In October, 1993, Buntrock was appointed by Espy and the White House as administrator of Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the nation’s major domestic farm-aid program.