FBI Director Objects to Briefing Request

The White House asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation last month for information about its inquiry into possible Chinese government influence in the 1996 presidential campaign but FBI Director Louis J. Freeh objected to providing the details, officials said Monday.

White House officials asked the FBI for a briefing after it learned from a newspaper report that the bureau was investigating a possible Chinese government role in Asian American political contributions to the Democratic Party, the officials said.

Freeh balked at that request, pointing out that he was being asked to provide details about an investigation that was still underway, the officials said. But after Atty. Gen. Janet Reno urged him to provide whatever information could be given to the White House without endangering the investigation, the FBI provided a carefully limited briefing, they said.

“Freeh didn’t want to tell us anything,” a White House official said. “But Janet Reno said they needed at least to tell us enough to conduct a foreign policy.”

The immediate reason for the White House request for information, officials said, was to help Secretary of State Madeleine Albright prepare for a visit to China.

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Freeh’s resistance to the White House request appeared to be the second instance in the last year in which the FBI has sought to limit the spread of information among top officials about its investigation involving China.

In June 1996, two FBI officials briefed aides at the National Security Council about reports that the Chinese were attempting to illegally funnel contributions to congressional candidates but warned the NSC staff not to disseminate the information. As a result, the NSC officials never told their White House superiors.

The FBI and the White House clashed publicly this month over the incident. The FBI maintained that it never asked the NSC aides to keep the information secret. The NSC officials insisted that it had. Officials in the middle of the embarrassing dispute said that the NSC officials appear to have over-interpreted an admonition from the FBI agents to keep the information closely held.

In last month’s incident, one official said that Freeh telephoned from Egypt, where he was on an official visit, to object to the idea of giving a briefing to the White House. Freeh’s strong objection put him at odds--at least briefly--with both the White House counsel’s office and the top leadership of the Justice Department, officials said.

After some discussion, Reno and White House officials came up with a fallback solution, officials said. “We asked for limited information, which Janet Reno made available to us, which would not impede any investigation,” one White House official said.

The briefing stressed that the FBI had not yet established whether the Chinese government, in fact, had directed contributions to Democratic Party organizations.

“We left it at that,” one official said.

Despite the apparently amicable outcome, the prickly exchange over what normally would be a routine request reflected an uncomfortable reality: In its investigation of possible campaign finance abuses, the FBI may find itself investigating the political leaders to whom it normally answers.

One official said that the White House request for information as a prelude to Albright’s trip came from Charles Ruff, White House counsel. Ruff’s official roles include acting as the White House’s liaison with the FBI over legal issues and defending President Clinton’s conduct of official business.

White House officials said there was nothing improper about Ruff’s request, however. The request came less than a week after the Washington Post first reported the FBI probe of allegations that China had been attempting to play a secret role in U.S. politics. White House officials have said that they were unaware of the FBI investigation until the newspaper story.

Chinese officials have strongly denied the allegations of attempted influence peddling.