Don Nickles: “Attorney General Janet Reno's refusal to appoint an independent counsel to investigate the Clinton administration's…”

“Attorney General Janet Reno's refusal to appoint an independent counsel to investigate the Clinton administration's highly questionable fundraising activities is based upon a shocking misinterpretation of the history, purpose, and requirements of the independent counsel law. Ms. Reno states that the act "does not permit" invoking the independent counsel provisions unless there is "specific and credible evidence that a crime may have been committed by" a person covered by the law. In fact, the law requires that it be invoked whenever there is "information sufficient to constitute grounds to investigate" whether any person covered by the law may have violated Federal law. In short, even though General Reno acknowledges that there are "sufficient grounds to investigate," and even though that investigation is ongoing as I speak, she insists on controlling the investigation herself. There remains no conceivable room for doubt that the Clinton administration, the Clinton-Gore campaign, and the Democratic National Committee engaged in fundraising practices that must be investigated. Virtually every editorial page in the Nation, from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times, have demanded an investigation.…”