Arlen Specter: “the competency and appearance of integrity, if not the integrity itself, of the Department of Justice was called into…”

“the competency and appearance of integrity, if not the integrity itself, of the Department of Justice was called into sharp question when Attorney General Reno, FBI Director Freeh, and CIA Director Tenet briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee last Wednesday and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday. In last week's briefing, the CIA Director advised that an individual, referred to here as ``X'', who had been identified in many news accounts as a major foreign contributor to political campaigns and campaign committees, has made significant contributions as part of a plan of the Government of China. The CIA Director further advised that the CIA obtained that information about ``X'' from the FBI, and it only put the FBI information on ``X'' together with the news reports on ``X'' after an analysis which was made following a request by Senator Bennett at the July 1997 FBI-CIA briefing of the Governmental Affairs Committee. The FBI Director advised that the information about ``X'' had been in the FBI files since September or October of 1995 on one report and since January 1997 on a second report. The FBI Director advised that the Governmental Affairs Committee was not told about that information at the July 1997 briefing because the FBI did not know it had the information.”