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Hillary -- Closet Attorney General
Janet Reno -- Spinster
in Bondage
By JERRY ZEIFMAN
President Clinton promised, "The most ethical administration in
history." Yet the questions now arise: Has Hillary Clinton been the
closet Attorney
General? Has Janet Reno been a disreputable figurehead?
Reno was the Clintons' fifth choice. One of her key sponsors was
Hillary Clinton's brother. Hugh Rodham. The third and fourth choices
(Zoe Baird and
Kimba Wood) had been disqualified for not paying social security
taxes for their house maids -- scandals known in the media as
"Nannygate." The
second choice was Shirley Hufstedler, a former Secretary of
Education under President Carter, who had declined -- purportedly
because of her
advanced age.
The first choice was federal Judge Patricia M. Wald of the District
of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. Wald had served as Assistant
Attorney
General during the Carter administration. Carter eventually
appointed her to the bench. Remarkably, after the Clintons chose her,
she too had declined
She explained to the press simply that she preferred to stay in a
secure judicial office until retirement. However, she had other good
reasons to refuse to
be A.G.
Wald abhorred the prospect of becoming a figurehead -- under the
domination of Hillary Clinton The President had not given Wald the
freedom to
choose her own top deputies. He had selected then-Harvard Law
professor Philip Heymann to be Deputy A.G., and Hillary's former law
partner, Web
Hubbell, to be the Associate Deputy. Although Wald knew little
about Hubbell, she was suspicious of him. However, she knew a great deal
about
Heymann -- and regarded him as a "political animal."
When Wald became Assistant A.G. in the Carter administration, she
was in charge of Congressional relations. Heymann was then a prosecutor
in the
criminal division. In an effort both to ingratiate himself with
President Carter and capture media attention, Heymann launched a "sting"
operation that
became known as "Abscam."
Heymann used FBI agents disguised as Arab sheiks to ensnare and
indict six House members and one Senator for accepting bribes. All but
one of the
defendants were pro-labor liberal Democrats who were supporting
Senator Ted Kennedy's efforts to defeat Jimmy Carter in upcoming
Democratic
Primaries.
One of the anti-Carter liberals was Frank Thompson of Princeton,
New Jersey, then-Chairman of the House Committee on Administration. Wald
knew
him on a first name basis -- and was fond of him. She knew that he
had two personal problems. One was his recovery from open-heart surgery.
The
other was alcoholism, which he was struggling to overcome. Wald
became irate when she learned that under Heymann's guidance the FBI
lured
"Thompy" to come alone to a mansion in Georgetown, plied him with
liquor, and set him up on a bribery charge.
Wald regarded Abscam as an unconstitutional "entrapment." She let
it be known to President Carter that she was considering resigning in
protest.
According to one reliable source, Wald was then "given an offer
that she could not refuse. She was kicked upstairs to the bench."
When the history of Janet Reno's two-term tenure as A.G. is finally
written, a comparison between Wald and Reno may well be relevant. Wald
has an
unblemished record for integrity. In contrast, Reno's entire career
in law enforcement now appears to have significant flaws.
As was noted at Reno's confirmation hearing, she had no prior
federal experience. During her tenure as prosecutor in Dade County
Florida, crime
increased 50%. In addition, as was mentioned specifically by
Senators Hatch and Cohen, the Judiciary Committee had received "rumors"
of character
flaws. After her confirmation hearings she said of herself "I'm
just an awkward old maid with a great affection for men."
The rumors persist -- and have increased. Although largely
unreported in the mainstream media, the gossip at the National Press
Club's "Reliable
Source Bar" is that she has personality disorders related to her
gender preference and drinking.
Currently, it is being reported that early in Janet Reno's tenure
as A.G. the FBI had intentionally fire bombed the Branch Davidian
compound at Waco
-- and later the Department of Justice had failed to disclose the
truth to Congress and the public. It also appears that the plans for the
assault at Waco
had been laid by the Clinton administration even before Reno's
nomination.
These days Reno continues to assume the blame, stating, "The Buck
Stops here." (Ironically, that's a notion that contradicts a sign on
Harry Truman's
desk assuming the final responsibility to himself for the acts of
his cabinet members.)
The unanswered question now is: Do the Clintons have something "on"
Janet Reno -- something that compels her to divert the slings and arrows
of
outrageous politics away from Bill and Senatorial candidate Hillary
into her own bosom? If the rumors are based on true facts, the answer
may well be
"Yes."
[Jerry Zeifman ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] ) served as Chief Counsel to
the House Judiciary Committee during the Nixon impeachment proceeding.]
Published in the Feb. 14, 2000 issue of The Washington Weekly.
Copyright � 2000 The Washington Weekly (http://www.federal.com).
Reposting permitted with
this message intact.
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