European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 12, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday november 12,1993 commentary the stars and stripes Paga 17 s an Art to covering up a cover up William Safire let me take you behind the scenes in the expo sure of a scandal As the irresistible forces of inquiry slam into the immovable Stone Wall of cover up. In Ira Gate the Bush administration arranged for billions in unlawful financing of iraqi president sad dam Hussein through the Atlanta office of Italy s Banca Lavoro. To Avert embarrassment after Saddam s double Cross our Justice department conspired with Italy to obstruct the investigation of Saddam s Bankers and Bush s top aides. The other Day the forces of inquiry got a Bible to work from spider s web the secret is tory of How the White House illegally armed Iraq. Alan Friedman whose reports in the financial times and Onabe s nightlife have helped move the revelations along brings together the Story that most Media have shied Way from because corruption s great Friend is complexity in Congress the relentless inspector javert of Ira Gate the chairman of the House banking com Mittee rep. Henry b. Gonzalez a Texas will take testimony from the convicted Atlanta Branch manage who is the designated fall Guy for higher ups in Rome and Washington. Also subpoenaed is Rinaldo Petrignani of Rogers & Wells who As italian ambassador made the approach to Bush s attorney general for the damage control that Richard Thornburgh denies ordering. But my Friend Rinaldo who was Only doing his country s bid Ding is also being sought by italian authorities on a bribery charge and May be Loo Busy to Finger american s what revelation has going for it this week. But the forces of inquiry can do Little without a court appointed Independent counsel which Calls for passage of a new the Side of stonewalling is a group of Republican senators led by John Mccain of Arizona protected by Robert Dole of Kansas who want to delay a floor vote on the Independent counsel Bill. They have High sounding excuses but the real reasons to drag a foot until the 1989 crimes of Ira Gate come under the statute of limitations. Thanks he stews Tjun Rovou for Sadm Hussein Maine before the thanksgiving recess Well Sec. Behind that Stone Wall is another Stone Wall attorney general Janet Reno. When asked if she would seek a special prosecutor from the court if the Law passed she told me i have no conflict of interest on Iraq in other words she will profess to be a demo crat investigating a Republican administration s crimes and will refuse to Honor Bill Clinton s Promise of inde pendent protestation of no conflict is a charade the former criminal division chief who stands to be investigated in the Banca Lavoro damage control is de Dennis the White Washer chosen by Reno s Deputy to find no blame in her Blunder Over the Branch Davi Dian cult in Waco Texas. It s All one cozy self protect ing establishment but when asked if the Justice department s criminal division can investigate itself Reno replies blithely it s my criminal division do not lose heart persistence february revelations in the new York times forced the Senate select committee on intelligence into reporting that the Cia told Justice about Rome s corrupt involve ment following which everybody lied. But that staff re port was fuzzy i submitted 28 groups of questions Fol lowing leads in the report read the chief prosecutor and chief investigator on the Case were part of a Justice delegation which met with the italian asked who were these two americans who arranged this meeting and where was it were minutes kept was this the same italian ambassador Petrignani who saw attorney general Thornburgh at a White House reception did Senate staff ask Why a memo was prepared by the chief of the criminal division Dennis for the a three Days before the approach at the White House committee staffers who did not want to. Admit they failed to ask the right questions Stone walled. But recently i sat next to the co chairman at a dinner and to the staff found time to answer my questions seriatim. In the example Given the americans were jus Tice s Gail Mckenzie and the agriculture department s Art Wade and no the hurried committee staff did not think to ask the follow ups that s How the Battle Between revellers and resisters goes on. Justice will prevail when somebody in Justice goes to jail. C the new York time budget amendment foes offer weak arguments some proposals Are vindicated bythe arguments they elicit against them. One such proposal is a constitutional amendment to require three fifths of both houses of Congress to approve an deficit spending and to a majority of the full membership of both houses to in crease Clinton says this balanced budget amendment might be vitiated by accounting subterfuge or multiplying unfunded mandates for local govern ments or the private sector. Sen. Robert c. Byrd d-w.va., says the amendment might be avoided and violated with in but accounting subterfuge i already common. And notice that Clinton and Byrd Are both arguing that the Politi Cal class of which they Are exemplars is so untrustworthy it would disregard its oath to defend the Constitution. That is one reason for the warns that beneficiaries of programs Cut to achieve compliance wit the amendment might find Friendly judges who would discover rights to those programs and who would order tax increases instead of cuts thereby destroy ing the constitutional system. Certainly today s entitlement mentality is Strong and Many judges arrogantly postulate new rights including their night to legis late but these tendencies should be Fough frontally rather than invoked As reasons for flinching from a balanced budget amendment. Notice again that Byrd s argument assumes the a trustworthiness of contemporary government. Clinton says the amendment would be bad economics because the deficit in creases automatically when the Economy weakens there by stimulating growth. The Washington Post agrees that the budget is an automatic economic Byrd also agrees. But there have George f. Will been deficits for 25 consecutive years and for 55 of the last 63 years during eco nomic expansions and contractions be cause deficits Are run not to regulate the Economy but to serve political careerists. Deficits enable careerists to charge cur rent Consumers of government just 76 cents for every Dollar of government consumed. Deficits thereby make big govern ment cheap reducing resistance to the growth of government that is the careerists vocation. If the Constitution were amended to limit the number of terms legislators could serve a balanced budget Amend ment would be unnecessary. Term limits would remove the careens motive for abusing modern government s vast reve nue raising and borrowing capacities. Deficits says the Post Are the result of political not constitutional fail True. But then abridgement of Freedom of speech and press might be political failings today if the Constitution pad not been amended to Block such fail Ings to which democracies Are prey. Clinton Byrd and the Post Are in uni son when saying the amendment would enable Congress to avoid hard choices while the amendment was being ratified. But Congress avoids such choices any Way. And the wait probably would be Brief the average ratification time for amendments proposed in this Century has been 18 months. The 26th amendment that lowered the voting age took just three months. Byrd who boasts of being a Bil lion Dollar Industry for West Virginia and Clinton who has raised taxes and wanted to raise spending More than con Gress would agree to remember the stimulus package oppose the Amend ment because it would interfere with Tough clearly the choices they have in mind Are for higher taxes. The Post which is beside itself about the simplistic and dangerous and insidious amendment says it would basically end the american system of majority Byrd too argues that the requirement of a three fifths vote for Rais ing the borrowing limit running a deficit would put the government into the hands of a minority when it comes to a tax in crease to balance the but various Senate rules that Byrd likes such As the Rule regarding cloture on filibusters give blocking Power to minority of senators regarding everything that comes before the 535 members of Congress. And this Republic rejected pure majority Rule in 1789, when it Rati fied the Constitution with its separation of Powers checks and balances and pro visions requiring super majorities for Var ious actions including overriding vetoes ratifying treaties impeachments and pro posing amendments to the Constitution. Now the Post is encouraging just 34 senators to prevent 66 senators and at least 290 of the 435 House members two thirds from sending the balance budget amendment to the states. If it is sent the Post will exhort 13 states to Block ratification. Egton Posl
