FBI home page The White House

CONGRESS'S inquiries into the White House's collection of FBI files on 408 Republicans found evidence yesterday that Internal Revenue Service documents also fell into the hands of officials.

It seems that the papers were among the FBI folders. Louis Freeh, the FBI director, was asked to provide Congress with an explanation and description of the contents by tomorrow. Tax information offers enormous possibilities for harassment. It may be more effective than FBI information on private habits.

A feature of the Watergate scandal was Richard Nixon's use of tax information to sink political enemies. An article of impeachment prepared against President Nixon before his resignation in 1974 was that he had misused the IRS directly or through subordinates. He tried to undermine opponents with tax audits and searched for pliable IRS officials to do his bidding.

Six weeks after taking office, Gerald Ford, his successor, signed an executive order establishing strict guidelines for presidential access to tax returns. Congress then passed an Act saying that it must be informed by the White House why tax records were needed.

Craig Livingstone, who held the files in his office vault at the White House, is to be questioned today by a congressional committee on why he needed the papers

Mark Fabiani, White House spokesman, said that administration officials returned all the documents to the FBI "sight unseen". Last week, another Republican, Senator Richard Shelby, specifically asked if there had been any White House request for tax information. Howard Schloss, the Treasury Assistant Secretary, replied that federal law required that such a request be signed personally by the President. "There's never been such a request."

Craig Livingstone, who held the files in his office vault at the White House, is to be questioned today by a congressional committee on why he needed the papers.

Mr Livingstone, a former nightclub doorman, is a Democratic official with a background of hard-nosed tactics on behalf of the party.

Republicans are planning to ask him if two FBI agents were right in saying that he was hand-picked by Hillary Clinton to work at the White House. He is said to have boasted of ties between his mother and Mrs Clinton.

Congressman William Clinger is demanding that the White House identify who hired Mr Livingstone. He also wants to know how he was cleared for access to sensitive information. In addition, Mr Clinger is demanding that 2,000 more documents be handed over. For some reason, the White House is resisting this.

25 June 1996: Clinton escapes pre-poll sex trial

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