European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes tuesday May 20, 1986 Colour ring comments William Safire Rives Gay on into Deavers lobbying Michael k. Deaver flu Rcd for five years by Media biggies eager for scraps of news from inc White House Lable has never been treated kindly in this space. In 1982 he was charged with Advertis ing for clients and in 1983 castigated for breaching ethics by using his position to sell a Lliel Book a year later he was Pillo ried Here for malting connections of future Benefit by sprinkling while House dinner invitations on billionaire Hong Kong shipping magnate . Pao. In 1985 i zapped him for doubling his family income by getting the Republican National committee to put his wife on its payroll. During his final Days in the White House i heaped scorn on his unseen Liness in using his diplomatic passport to save 18,000 on importing a German car and this year was first to Call for Independent counsel to investigate his flirtation with Scullon 207 of the criminal code. Those Are the credentials thai enable me to say that Denver s rights were trampled on by the general accounting office when its officials testified about their investigation before the House. Gao officials charged Hal there is enough basis for believing the Post employ ment Laws May have been violated to War rant referring inc Mailer to the depart ment of  they presented evidence taken from a dozen sources that May show wrongdoing but when asked if Deaver had been interviewed to gel his Side of the Story in their report they said no Why Noli the lame excuse since he is Likely to be investigated by the Justice department his defense should Lake place there the Gao was supposedly protecting his rights by refusing to talk to him. Thai is brawn sophistry. Standard Gao procedure before issuing a report is 10 show its conclusions to its target for com ment. Certainly no harm would have been done his ultimate defense and elemental fairness would have been  if Deaver s lawyer. Had been allowed to sub Mil a refutation of inc Gao s conclusions Al the Sanic Lime icy were made Public. The investigation itself was a Sham. One Benefit of a Deaver Case is that it reveals weaknesses throughout the system. Consider this on dec. 10, i �8s, chairman John Ding Ell of the House investigations sub Commil James Kilpatrick ice sent a clipping from the oct. 27 Washington Post to the comptroller general Boss of he Gao. The Story by Thomas Edsall and David Hoffman raised questions about lobbyist Denver s acid rain role in the White House. The chairman s Fetter was stamped received on dec 16 Interoffice mail takes about a week but apparently the Gao has a three week party at christmastime because the letter was not read until Jan. 4, 1986, a request was made to the White House for information. The Gao then hibernate for four months. The office of White House counsel How Ever moved to Prolet its own. Fred Field ing was listening he says nol seriously to Job offers from Deaver he May have Misk a the ethics office about the acid rain envoy and ultimately accused himself,1 Fielding s successor As while House counsel Peler Cullison did not Al first make any of those involved in the acid rain controversy available to be interviewed by the Gao. He assembled All he recollections of to people together with calendars and phone lists and prepared his own re port. He then distributed that summation of what each of the 10 had to suy to All inc others and to the Gao. When the Gumshoe from inc Gao Sas Hayed around to interview the while House aides in mid april each had a crib Sheet of what All the others remembered thai makes Tor Good Groupthink with Little possibility of conflict or in Lur Ras sment. Five months 10 precooked interviews plus a couple of others no rebuttal by the accused and the Gao won t say How much Money it spent. Whal kind of investigative Arm of the Congress is this the men responsible for oversight of the Gao Are William Roth of the Senate and Jack Brooks in the House. It s time for a team a look inside that sacrosanct Agency by people who understand Boih How to gel the truth and protect the rights of those investigated White in the grip of his fairness attack let me apologize to John Mcmahon who i acc Nelly wrote was booted out of the Cia in my opinion he was eased out in a policy dispute which docs Noi reflect on fits professionalism. 1c n w York Lmh Gramm Rudman lawsuit heating up on Capitol Hill almost unnoticed in the press the holiest lawsuit in town recently heated up. That lawsuit of course is the Leil of the Gramm Rudman Hollings deficit reduction act now before the . Supreme court. On the Resolution of thai Challenge hangs the Fale of he Fedor. Ai budget for the next four years the new heal comes from the . Court of appeals for the 3rd circuit with no fanfare and with scarcely a moment of Public notice the 3rd circuit on March 27 handed Down a highly influential opinion construing the key Issue in the lest Case the Story is a bit complicated but it merits your attention. The Gramm Rudman Hollings Art you will recall contained a triggering mechanism. If estimates of fed eral income and outgo indicate a deficit above a target amount and if Congress fails to Lake remedial action the trigger Clicks. The . Comptroller general Al that Point must certify a certain percentage of reduction in spending across the Board. Rep. Mike Synar d-okla., brought suit Here in Washington a test the  of his trigger ing mechanism. In february a three judge Federal court agreed with Synar the provision is fatally flawed. How come the comptroller general the court ruled is a part of the legislative Branch but by decree ing cuts in spending he would be performing an executive function the doctrine of separation of Powers forbids such an action. Meanwhile up in Philadelphia the 3rd . Circuit was writing an entirely different Story. In a Case directly in paint the 3rd circuit held that the comptroller general is nol an instrument of Congress it is rather n part of the executive Branch. The 3rd circuit was not construing the Gramm Rudman Hollings act it was construing the Competition in construction act Bur the key Issue is the same. Judge Leonard Garth 65, a Veteran of 13 years on the Federal Bench wrote the 3rd circuit opinion. The mundane facts he said belie the compelling nature of the constitutional question before  in tale 1984. Ameron inc., submitted an apparent Low bid of it.033,000 la clean and repair sewer lines for the army at West Point . By aus of a typist s error in writing up a Bond the contract was awarded instead to the spi Metlo construction co. For about $200,000 More. Ameron sued under the Competition in construction acl which authorizes the comptroller general o decide such protests. The three judge court in the Synar Challenge had reasoned that because Congress has Power to remove a comptroller generate officer is an agent of Congress. Legislative agents cannot constitutionally perform executive acts. Judge Garth held directly o the contrary. The Power of removal does not determine to which Branch the comptroller general belongs. Rather if anything it is the Power of appointment that should  the comptroller general judge Garth noted is appointed by a president for a nun renewable term of 15 years. The office is rolled in the Treasury. Over the past 60 years Congress never once has irid to remove a comptroller general. Congress never has even tried to control a comptroller. Indeed the comptroller general appears o be one of the most Independent officers in the whole of the Federal government and one whose functions Are drawn from each of the  judge Garth speculated that time has wrought sign Lei Cam changes in the doctrine of separation of Powers. The founding fathers envisioned n Structure in which the legislative executive and judicial functions would live under the same roof but in separate apartments. The past Hun dred years have seen the Rise of Independent agencies whose members Are Itom Rnald by presidents and con firmed by Congress. We no longer have three branches we have four. Circuit judge Edward r. Becker dissented sharply from this analysis but he agreed with his cot eagles that the comptroller general is not a part of the legislative Domain. The 3rd circuit s opinion diametrically in conflict with the opinion or the Synar court leaves the trigger banging fire. The supreme court May yet hold the dramm Rud Man Hollmes act constitutional. If so the fiscal pot thai has been simmering gently on Capitol Hill will come to rolling boil. Tel i9m Unm rial pret Syndicate a me jul inf sight