European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday october 24, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Steve Gerste panel s bungling to blame for Thomas fiasco without question almost All of the blame for the botched Job in the confirmation of . Supreme court Justice Clarence Thomas rests with the members of the Senate judiciary committee. Theirs was the original sin. Then they compounded their ineptness with four Days of salacious hearings that both riveted and disgusted a nationwide audience. The Only members who avoided a taint were the ones who kept their Mouths shut. Despite All the protestations the committee cannot dismiss the fact that it had in its Possession a then sat on a a statement and raw Fri material from a woman who claimed she was sexually harassed by Thomas. Whether True or not the committee could not ignore this complaint As it promptly did. It came from a woman a tenured Law professor at the University of Oklahoma who had worked with Thomas both in the civil rights division of the education department and at the equal employment Opportunity commission. She was not As the hearings showed off the Wall. The excuse Given by the committee members a decision supported by Senate leaders of both parties was that this woman asked that her name not be revealed and that her statement remain in the bosom of the committee. So much for her request. Now the entire world knows that the complaint came from Anita Hill. Granting that the confidentiality request from Hill deserved consideration it is puzzling beyond belief that no member of the committee Felt that the allegation of sexual harassment deserved any serious investigation. Presumably a Case can be made for the republicans who certainly did not want any last minute hitch in Thomas climb to the supreme court. But what about the democrats All but one of whom opposed the nomination it is almost impossible to believe that no Democrat a not Edward m. Kennedy of Massachusetts Patrick j. Leahy of Vermont or even Howard m. Metzenbaum of Ohio a was interested enough to suggest that maybe the complaint required a probing look. Did the committee have the option certainly. Chairman Joseph r. Biden jr., d-del., could have called at that Point Hill and Thomas into a closed session not unusual when dealing with personal matters. He could also have ordered the Fri or staff investigators to question other women employees in the education department and the Leoc to find it there was a pattern of sexual harassment. Or Biden could have named a subcommittee to go to Oklahoma to question Hill a and let them report to the full panel on the Validity of the complaint. And if the committee decided there was no Way to decide whether Thomas or Hill was telling the truth that should have been included in the report and the backup transcripts made available to All senators. But the committee chose silence and by doing so every member of the panel is now suspect of being insensitive to the problem of sexual harassment no matter what their voting record is. And what is the Senate a reaction in the aftermath of All this bungling first find out who leaked the information so that it became Public and punish the person responsible. Second take a searching new look at the process by which nominees Are handled once an appointment is made and in the clutches of a Senate committee. The Best bet is that the leaker or leaders will never be found although the republicans will squeeze what political advantage they can out of the process. The second Best bet is that the confirmation process which normally works pretty Well will not be changed except perhaps cosmetically. C us cd press International Walter r. Mears drip drip drip of political leaks nothing new in Pursuit of the leaks that forced their embarrassing encore in the Clarence Thomas Case Senate leaders Are sending investigators on a Well worn path. The government has been trying to plug its leaks for As Long As there have been officials to know secrets and sources to Tell them. Nobody has found a Way to do it. And this replay Isnit Likely to. That does no to deter investigators nor has it Ever discouraged officials seeking to find and perhaps punish the source of an unauthorized disclosure in Hopes of preventing the next one. The problem Isnit new. Whole treaties were leaked into print during the 19th Century when such matters were debated in Senate secrecy. It has usually been presidents who have gone after leaks most memorably in the Covert operations of the White House a plumbers a whose methods included wiretapping and burglaries foretelling the watergate scandal that brought Down Richard m. Nixon. As president Lyndon b. Johnson did no to just lament leaks. He was said to have changed planned announcements or appointments that had been disclosed before he was ready. Its not one sided. Information sometimes has been leaked with the blessings let of the people in Power to shape or test policies. Sometimes its done to Block a plan or derail a confirmation. In Thomas Case it did t work. He was confirmed 52-48, As a Justice of the supreme court after a weeks delay and reopened hearings that followed the leaking of sexual harassment accusations by a former aide Anita f. Hill. Until her charges were publicized by new Day and National Public radio the Senate judiciary committee dealt with it All in private and most senators did no to know. Those Are the leaks Senate leaders now say they Are determined to track and perhaps to punish. Sen. George j. Mitchell a Maine the majority Leader promised an inquiry before the oct. 15 vote that confirmed Thomas. He said he wanted an investigation that would cover other damaging leaks too. That would broaden the inquiry to cover damaging disclosures about the Keating five investigation in which information about democrats leaked from the Senate select committee on ethics. Mitchell has complained that the outrage about leaks has been politically selective and that some of the republicans angered by the Thomas Case were silent when the targets were democrats. A to selectively condemn leaks is in reality to selectively encourage them a he said. A what we be got to make Clear is that there will be no leaks a Mitchell said in an Abc television interview sunday. Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas the Lead Republican said the investigation should focus on the Hill charge first because a this is the one the Public believes we re going to sweep under the  Dole said that wont happen. A but when you re All said and done we re not going to Stop leaks a he added. They Are quite simply too much a part of the process. Besides leaks in or about Congress Are less frequent than disclosures elsewhere in the government by the executive Branch about the executive Branch. Furthermore leaks Are sometimes explained and defended As whistle blowing by people in the government who see something going wrong and have no other Way to Stop it. That Case could be argued Over the leak of Hills accusation that Thomas had sexually harassed her when she worked for him at two government agencies a decade ago. Her allegation had been checked by the Senate judiciary committee with a Brief inconclusive Fri inquiry but other senators due to vote on the Thomas confirmation weren to told. And some democratic senators who initially decided the allegation was not grounds for delay changed their minds after it became Public and stirred a political outcry. In addition variations on the practice of leaking Are built into the Way politicians and administrations Tell their own stories. Some sources leak. Other sources deliver authorized disclosures under cover of anonymity under rules of attribution. The a senior administration official is briefing not leaking but the lines sometimes blur. The frustrations do not president Bush has clamped Down on leaks by insisting that his people talk Lor the record or not at All. It does no to always work but he a had More Success at it than his recent predecessors. Dwight d. Eisenhower said he was plagued by leaks. Ronald Reagan was More colourful. A a in be had it up to my Keister with these leaks a he said before his administration launched a drive that included lie Detector tests an executive order and a presidential memo to government officials All aimed at stopping leaks. Reagan incidentally made the Keister remark at a staff meeting and was said to have been miffed when it too was disclosed. C to associated Pross