Reno Seeks Independent Counsel on Babbitt

In a move virtually certain to produce the fourth outside investigation of a Clinton cabinet appointee, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno on Wednesday asked for the appointment of an independent counsel to probe whether Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt lied to the Senate about his role in rejecting an Indian casino in Wisconsin.

Reno’s action, which drew an angry response from Babbitt, could lead to a broader investigation of whether campaign contributions to the Democrats by Indian tribes opposed to the casino influenced the decision against it.

For months, Republicans have been unsuccessfully urging Reno to seek appointment of an independent counsel to examine a wide range of allegations of improper and illegal Democratic fund-raising in the 1996 election, and the Babbitt case would mark a measured step in that direction.

Still, Reno’s request to a special three-judge panel for an outside prosecutor sought to have the probe limited to the casino matter.

The panel almost assuredly will approve Reno’s call for an independent counsel. The panel could decide on its own to broaden the counsel’s scope, but that would be unusual.

Reacting to Reno’s decision, President Clinton expressed his confidence that Babbitt ultimately will be cleared.

“I have known Bruce Babbitt for many years. He is a man of the highest integrity and a dedicated public servant,” Clinton said. “I am convinced that when this matter is concluded he will be vindicated. I look forward to his continuing service to the American people.”

Previous Clinton Cabinet members under investigation by independent counsels were former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry G. Cisneros and the late Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown.

Espy has pleaded not guilty to charges of accepting $35,000 in illegal gifts and is awaiting trial. Cisneros has pleaded not guilty to charges he conspired to lie to FBI agents about payments he made to a former mistress and is awaiting trial.

Brown was the subject of an investigation into his financial dealings when he died in a plane crash while on a trade mission to Bosnia in April 1996.

In addition, President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton are the subjects of an expanding probe by Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr.

In her application for appointment of an independent counsel in the Babbitt case, Reno said a 90-day preliminary probe by the Justice Department “has determined that there is specific and credible evidence indicating that Secretary Babbitt may have testified falsely” last fall to a Senate committee.

Republicans have asserted that promises of campaign contributions to the Democratic Party by Indian tribes opposed to the casino may have influenced the Interior Department decision in 1995 that blocked the gambling proposal. Those tribes contributed $286,000 to the Democratic National Committee in 1996.

Babbitt and other Interior Department employees have denied that political influence played any role in the denial of the casino, which also was opposed by the local community.

To resolve whether Babbitt made false statements on the dispute, Reno said the independent counsel should be empowered to probe whether the casino decision was improperly influenced, potentially taking the investigation into the campaign contribution issue.

The Justice Department’s preliminary inquiry focused on a remark Babbitt allegedly made to longtime friend Paul Eckstein, who was lobbying for approval of the casino.

Eckstein was seeking a delay in the Interior decision so Babbitt could meet with representatives of the tribes seeking to operate the casino.

Eckstein, in sworn testimony to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in October, said Babbitt told him on July 14, 1995, that then-White House Chief of Staff Harold M. Ickes had called and directed him to make a decision that day (when, in fact the decision ultimately was issued). Eckstein also said Babbitt commented that tribes opposed to the casino had contributed about $500,000 to the DNC or other Democratic Party interests.

Babbitt, in his own testimony to the governmental affairs panel in October, acknowledged having invoked Ickes’ name but insisted he did so only in an “awkward” effort to end his meeting with Eckstein and not because Ickes actually had directed him to issue the casino decision on July 14, 1995.

He also testified that he did not recall whether he made any statements to Eckstein about political contributions by the tribes opposing the casino.

Reno said the department’s limited investigation sought to determine whether Babbitt had violated the federal laws against perjury or false statements.

Reno said: “I conclude that there are reasonable grounds to believe that further investigation is warranted into whether Secretary Babbitt may have violated a federal criminal law . . . with his testimony about his conversation” with Eckstein.

Babbitt said he was “disappointed” by Reno’s decision, adding: “This is a disagreement between two people about the exact words spoken in a meeting they had alone two years ago. We’ve each told our version and we disagree. There’s nothing else to say about it. My attorneys say it can’t possibly form the basis of any legal charges.”

He added: “If it’s true that only an independent counsel can resolve a matter like this if it involves a Cabinet secretary, then I think the list of hidden costs one has to pay for public service has just grown a little longer.”

Reno’s office also is in the midst of determining whether to seek an independent counsel to probe allegations concerning Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman.

Reno has until March 10 to make that decision. At issue is whether Herman illegally accepted cash to help business ventures in her previous position as a White House aide during Clinton’s first term.