Anti-Terrorism Package Needs to ‘Pass Now,’ Clinton Tells Congress

President Clinton demanded immediate congressional action on his anti-terrorism package Monday, disregarding Republican warnings that an FBI promotion could stall the legislation.

“It needs to pass and pass now,” he said.

In a slap at House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), the President said: “Nothing can justify turning this bill into a political football.”

Clinton urged the Republican-controlled Congress to pass his package by Memorial Day. It was offered in the wake of the April 19 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

The proposal expands the federal government’s ability to investigate and monitor presumed terrorist groups. It enjoys considerable bipartisan support, but lawmakers have expressed concern about possible government abuse of individuals’ rights.

Gingrich suggested Sunday that Atty. Gen. Janet Reno’s decision to make Larry Potts the FBI’s deputy director “will further slow down the terrorist legislation and will mean even greater concern over civil liberties, which I don’t think is inappropriate.”

Gingrich spoke of the “genuine fear” many rural Americans have of the federal government and said the Potts promotion was “sending a signal that watching the FBI is not illegitimate.”

Anti-government groups have criticized Potts since he oversaw the 1992 siege at the home of white separatist Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge, Ida., a situation begun by the U.S. Marshals Service. He also oversaw the 1993 standoff and ultimate demise of the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Tex., after a raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Potts was censured for his role in the Weaver episode after an FBI sharpshooter accidentally killed Weaver’s wife. But Potts is a trusted associate of FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and has been commended for his leadership in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation.

Meanwhile, a new attorney, Stephen Jones, was appointed to represent bombing suspect Timothy J. McVeigh, replacing the public defenders who said they had friends among the 167 people killed in the explosion.

And FBI spokesman Dan Vogel denied a Dallas Morning News report that an Arizona license plate that might have been blown off McVeigh’s getaway car was found near the site.