THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 9, 1995 TAG: 9512080029
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Remember the Clinton passport flap in the waning days of the 1992 presidential campaign? It's a small political footnote except it nearly ruined several lives. It exemplifies how modern campaigns and their press coverage have turned into demolition derbies.
According to rumors there was something shocking lurking in candidate Clinton's passport file, perhaps a letter asking about renouncing his citizenship during the Vietnam War. The press, scenting a scandal, filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the file. It bogged down in the bureaucracy as the campaign reached its conclusion.
Repeated requests to the State Deprtment for the information got the attention of James Baker III. He'd been secretary of state until resigning to head the Bush re-election effort.
Baker apparently asked if the release could be expedited. If there was anything damaging in the file, he wouldn't have minded it coming out before the voting took place. He was told by White House counsel that the process couldn't be speeded, that releasing the file at all might violate the federal privacy act and that examining the file as part of a national-security clearance check was also unacceptable.
But the Baker query did prompt several State Department officials to locate the file. When word leaked that top Bush campaign officials were interested in the case, the Democrats screamed. All completely predictable. But then, the State Department inspector general overreacted. He accused several State Department employees of misbehavior.
On that basis an independent counsel, Joseph diGenova, was appointed. Two years and $2.2 million later, diGenova has issued a voluminous report. The upshot? Nobody was guilty of anything, except the IG who conducted an inquiry that was ``not competent.''
Nothing scandalous was in the files. The Bush people made some decisions that were merely ``stupid, dumb and partisan.'' And the government owes an apology to employees who ``were unjustly accused of violating the law.''
An apology would be nice, but it may not entirely cover the damage. One case in point is Steven K. Berry. Then an assistant secretary of state, he was accused by the inspector general of a ``serious lapse of judgment.''
He lost his job, had his reputation trashed, couldn't get work as a legal partner and ran up $500,000 in legal fees. Yet now, diGenova says, it was all a mistake, Berry ``acted within the scope of his authority and responsibility standard.''
The current climate that couples partisan witchhunt with media feeding frenzy may provide grand entertainment, but it's no fun for these Bush officials, Judge Robert Bork, the Vince Foster family, Adm. Bobby Inman, Jean Lewis. Make your own list.
People who think they are going to Washington to serve their country find themselves sideswiped by history. The derby moves on, but they are part of the wreckage left by the side of the road. No wonder it's harder and harder to recruit quality public servants. by CNB