There is still no explanation as to why the White House needed anyone from the Army to do security checks when that sort of work can more easily be done by the FBI. And an even bigger mystery is why the White House would assign a fraud investigator for that task when the Army has the Central Security Clearance Facility in Fort Meade, Md. that does just such work.
I've also learned that Special Whitewater prosecutor, Ken Starr, who questioned the Army aide on Monday, has been tipped off in a confidential note - which I happened to get a copy of - that while at the White House the aide had not only been gathering information from the FBI but also got a number of dossiers from the Army's Central Security Clearance Facility at Fort Meade.
Anthony Marceca, the civilian aide who requested the files, said in a statement earlier this week that he had reviewed the files for any derogatory information that might indicate that the Republicans should be denied access to the White House.
The White House has characterized the incident as an innocent mistake and has offered its apologies to the Republicans, who, naturally, aren't buying that explanation. Among the names on the list, which oddly goes alphabetically only up to the letter G, is Billy R. Dale, the head of the White House travel office who was removed from his position shortly after the Clinton came to office.
The information provided yesterday to Starr's office about other files coming to the White House from the Army could not be verified. But the person who provided that information to Starr was privvy to Marceca's home telephone number and home address.
Marceca wasn't taking phone calls at his office at Fort Belvoir, near Alexandria, Va. And when I reached a woman at Marceca's home - who I assumed to be his wife - she said that Marceca would stick with the statement issued by the White House earlier this week.
But the source in his confidential note to Starr, told the Whitewater prosecutor that "during 1993, while Mr. Marceca was detailed to the White House, a number of dossiers were provided by the U.S. Army Central Security Clearance Facility at Fort Meade to the White House via Mr. Marceca."
"In some instances, these files pertained to individuals under consideration for political appointments to positions within the Clinton Administration," the source told Starr.
But, the source says, "in at least one instance, the U.S. Army sought to negatively influence a White House decision regarding the appointment of an individual to an oversight position with the Department of Defense."
"The individual was a well-known senior Army civilian who had accurately reported fraud, waste and abuse within Army and Department of Defense programs to Congress over a ten year period," the note says. The individual's identity was not revealed in the note to Starr.
The informant said the Army sought to discredit the individual by "providing his U.S. Army Security Clearance dossier through Mr. Marceca to White House personnel." The informant named several Army officials who are supposed to have knowledge of Marceca's antics. The one that I was able to contact said she didn't even know Marceca.
If the confidential source is correct and dossiers were being used to discredit people, does that explain Marceca's real presence in the White House? And did his long background in fraud investigations give him a unique ability to find dirt?
Also unknown is whether Marceca had any previous connection with the Clintons.
But the Army did confirm that Marceca had been stationed at Fort Meade until last year, but only as a civilian employee of the Washington Metropolitan Fraud Field Office, which investigates scams against military personnel, and not with the Security Clearance Facility. He had been with the fraud division since 1988, except for his temporary assignment at the White House from August 1993 to February, 1994. The Army couldn't provide details on Marceca's employment before 1988.
The Army said Marceca doesn't wish to say anything more about the files he requested. Under the circumstances, I guess that's understandable.
(John Crudele is a financial columnist with the New York Post. His mailing address is P.O. Box 610, Lincroft, N.J. 07738. Click here to send him e-mail).