EX-OFFICIAL'S BUSH-TAPES ROLE PROBED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 24, 1993                   TAG: 9302240203
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short
EX-OFFICIAL'S BUSH-TAPES ROLE PROBED
The Justice Department said Tuesday it is reviewing the decision of the archivist of the United States to give former President Bush exclusive legal control over 5,000 White House computer tapes the day before Bush left office.
Acting Attorney General Stuart Gerson acknowledged the review in court papers seeking to halt a public interest group's scheduled deposition of Archivist Don W. Wilson today.
The tapes contain hundreds of millions of electronic mail messages among White House and National Security Council officials during the Bush and Reagan administrations. Wilson signed them over to Bush on Jan. 19. At the time, he was negotiating a job with Bush's son, George W. Bush, and Texas A&M University to run Bush's presidential library.
Three senators asked the Justice Department last week to investigate whether the actions are related and violate conflict-of-interest prohibitions.
Under federal law, it is a felony for a government official to render decisions on a matter relating to "any person or organization with whom he is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment."
Wilson announced Feb. 12 that he was resigning effective March 31 as the chief keeper and guardian of the government's records to become executive director of the George Bush Presidential Library Center at Texas A&M.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB