-Caveat Lector-
November 3, 2000
Reno sets investigation of aborted drug probe
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Attorney General Janet Reno yesterday ordered an
investigation into accusations by five Houston police detectives
who said they were pulled off a yearlong undercover drug probe
after a key suspect in the case met with Vice President Al Gore.
Miss Reno ordered the probe amid accusations of "political
interference" by the Houston detectives, members of a joint Drug
Enforcement Administration/ Houston Police Department task force.
The case was shut down two days after the probe's key target,
Houston rapper James Prince, met with Mr. Gore at a Houston
church.
She also ordered that DEA agents in Houston be removed from
the case and replaced by "a new team of experienced special
agents" from other offices ‹ assisted by FBI agents, who also
will be assigned to the investigation. She said the new team
would be in place in a week.
"The Department of Justice and the DEA administrator find
the DEA reports regarding the status of the Houston investigation
disturbing," Assistant Attorney General Robert Raben said in a
letter last night to the House Government Reform Committee, which
had sought information on the accusations.
"Further, we take very seriously any allegation that an
investigation has been politicized. For these and other reasons,
the attorney general and the DEA administrator have asked the
Office of Inspector General to investigate these matters," he
said.
On Monday, the Houston detectives told House investigators
that DEA Agent Ernest Howard, head of the agency's Houston
office, said the probe had been shut down despite more than 20
arrests ‹ with others pending. They said they were told not to
conduct further inquiries or pursue new leads involving Mr.
Prince, head of a music recording firm known as Rap-A-Lot.
One Houston detective told investigators, "It was a slap in
the face to me . . .. The rug was pulled out from under us." The
probe, dubbed "Rap-A-Lot," had netted several of Mr. Prince's
employees.
House investigators want to know if there is a connection
between a March 12 campaign visit by Mr. Gore with Mr. Prince at
a Houston church to which Mr. Prince had donated $1 million and a
decision two days later to end the probe. They also are looking
into accusations that Mr. Prince offered $1 million to the Gore
campaign prior to the vice president's visit.
Mr. Prince was not available yesterday for comment, although
he told the Dallas Morning News, which first reported the
undercover probe had been shut down, he had unfairly been
targeted because he is wealthy and black. He has denied any
wrongdoing and Federal Election Commission records show he has
not contributed to the Gore campaign.
James Kennedy, spokesman for Mr. Gore, dismissed the
accusations as "baseless," saying the vice president had no
knowledge of the Houston investigation.
But James C. Wilson, the committee's chief counsel, took
exception to Mr. Kennedy's comment, saying that in view of the
Justice Department investigation, "Mr. Kennedy's comments are
nothing more than meaningless spin."
Committee Chairman Rep. Dan Burton asked DEA Administrator
Donnie R. Marshall in a letter this week for information on
whether "Mr. Prince was promising a large political contribution
to the Gore campaign, the [Democratic National Convention] or any
other political committee." The Indiana Republican wants the DEA
to make nine agents involved in the probe available for
interviews to determine if political pressure was brought to bear
to end the probe.
Mr. Burton told the DEA that while Mr. Gore's role in the
matter remained "unclear," the Houston detectives were certain
why the probe had ended. He also said Mr. Howard, when questioned
by House investigators, denied the case had been closed ‹a
statement since contradicted by e-mails Mr. Howard sent to DEA
headquarters in Washington.
One e-mail, sent two days after Mr. Gore's visit to Houston,
said the undercover probe was closed due to political pressure.
Mr. Howard also noted that Mr. Prince was present "with the VP at
the church" during his March 12 visit and "undoubtedly had a
picture session as well."
In another e-mail, Mr. Howard said the situation involving
the probe "has only gotten worse" and he had decided "that the
Houston Division will curtail any enforcement action against this
subject." He also said he had transferred Agent Jack Schumacher,
a veteran DEA official who headed the Rap-A-Lot probe, to a desk
job, describing the order as "an unfortunate occurrence."
Mr. Howard, in another e-mail, said he had briefed former
DEA Administrator Thomas Constantine on the probe "because of the
potential political pressure associated with it," but that the
investigation had been shut down anyway.
"Now we bow down to the political pressure anyway," he said.
"If I had known this, I would have NEVER brought Jack into this
case, nor would I have pursued it. But it is over now."
House investigators also have focused on what role Rep.
Maxine Waters, California Democrat, played in the matter. She had
complained in a letter to Attorney General Janet Reno that Mr.
Prince was the victim of police harassment and was fearful for
his life, demanding that Miss Reno intercede in the "questionable
practices of DEA."
The DEA's Office of Professional Responsibility later
investigated those accusations, interviewing Mr. Prince in her
Washington office ‹ along with his attorney and Mrs. Waters'
husband, Sidney Williams, who grew up in the same Houston
neighborhood as did Mr. Prince. OPR later ruled that the
accusations were unfounded.
The site of the Prince interview, however, was questioned by
investigators, who said the use of Mrs. Waters' office was
unprecedented since she had brought the accusations against the
DEA. They said the agency normally avoided contact with members
of Congress until an internal-affairs probe ended.
Mrs. Waters did not return calls to her office for comment.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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