Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 21, 1993 TAG: 9310210140
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The State Department said its inspector general had started investigating Oakley in early August to determine whether he had violated conflict-of-interest laws in connection with his representation of Middle East Airlines.
The inspector general only notified Secretary of State Warren Christopher of the investigation when he learned that Clinton had named Oakley as his special envoy to Somalia on Oct. 7, said a State Department official who asked not to be identified.
White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers said Clinton had not known Oakley was under investigation when he named him. But Myers said "the president has complete confidence in Ambassador Oakley."
The inspector general is trying to determine whether Oakley violated ethics laws by lobbying the government about a policy he fashioned while serving as the State Department's counterterrorism adviser.
In that role, Oakley was instrumental in banning U.S. travel to Lebanon, including MEA flights from the United States.
The 1985 decision was taken in response to a wave of hijackings in Lebanon, including that of a TWA airliner in which a U.S. Navy diver was killed.
Oakley, who formed a consulting firm after leaving government, met with several State Department officials this year to discuss the MEA case, said two officials knowledgeable about the case.
Also participating in some of the meetings was Billie Vincent, a former safety expert with the Federal Aviation Administration, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Vincent, whose company, Aerospace Services International, also represents MEA, analyzed the Beirut airport and reported that security had been improved there, the officials said.
But the administration was "still unconvinced" that these improvements changed the basic threat to Americans traveling to Lebanon, and was not inclined to allow MEA to operate direct service from the United States to Beirut, said one of the officials.
In fact, on Aug. 31 the State Department warned Americans against traveling to Lebanon. "While all the known American hostages have been released, the organizations which abducted them continue to operate within that country," said the warning.
Counterterrorism and aviation officials have been particularly concerned about a possible surge in anti-American terrorism by Iranian- and Syrian-backed groups opposed to the agreement signed in Washington last month between Israel and the PLO.
In a July 2 submission to the Justice Department, Oakley and Vincent said they had entered into an agreement to help obtain approval for MEA to resume its flights from the United States.
According to the document, Oakley and Vincent stood to make $450,000 if the administration lifted its ban on MEA before 1994.
Oakley's services also included help in obtaining approval for MEA to sell tickets in the United States.
The Department of Transportation last week slapped a $500,000 penalty on MEA for selling tickets in the United States - through Europe - to Lebanon. It was the biggest penalty ever assessed by the department against an airline for economic violations.
by CNB