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By Walter Pincus and Roberto Suro
CIA Director George J. Tenet refused yesterday to discuss with the Senate Intelligence Committee a secret report about an unauthorized U.S. transfer of information to Chinese missile officials, citing a last-minute request by Attorney General Janet Reno to reserve comment on the case, congressional and administration sources said. Tenet's refusal to discuss the intelligence community's analysis of what a Loral Space and Communications Ltd. official may have revealed to China after the 1996 crash of a missile carrying a U.S.-made satellite brought a quick, critical response from Sen. Richard J. Shelby (R-Ala.), the committee chairman. Shelby told reporters after the session that he was "most disturbed," citing a law that requires the CIA director to share "significant" intelligence with the congressional oversight committees. Shelby said there was no legal basis for Reno's early morning request to Tenet. By yesterday afternoon, however, Reno had withdrawn the objection and cleared the way for the CIA to release the intelligence report to the Senate committee, Justice Department spokesman Bert Brandenburg said. Reno and FBI Director Louis J. Freeh are scheduled to appear before Shelby's committee in a closed session today. Reno's sudden change of position averted what promised to be a sharp confrontation between the attorney general and the intelligence panel, which yesterday began its investigation of the Clinton administration's policy of authorizing the launch of U.S. satellites on Chinese rockets. Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), vice chairman of the committee, took a less critical view of Tenet's refusal to share the CIA's assessment of whether the unauthorized transfer harmed national security. "Even if the law is on our side," Kerrey said, "there may be times where we should say Justice's case is more important than the information getting here where it may leak and damage a prosecution." Brandenburg said Reno had asked Tenet not to discuss the unauthorized technology transfer, which is being investigated for possible violation of U.S. law, "out of concern that disclosure would cause harm to an ongoing criminal investigation by providing a road map to potential subjects and witnesses." Brandenburg offered no explanation of why Reno had withdrawn the objection except to say "there was further consideration of the issue." At the request of insurance companies, Loral led a review of an investigation conducted by the Chinese into the 1996 crash of a Long March missile. By Loral's admission documents on that review were distributed to the Chinese in violation of company policy and in possible violation of U.S. law governing technology transfers with foreign nations. Prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's office in the District opened a criminal investigation into Loral's handling of the 1996 crash report in May 1997 after receiving a referral from the State Department. It was not until this January, however, that prosecutors started presenting evidence to a grand jury with the inquiry still in a prelimi phase, according to federal officials. In more than two hours before the committee, Tenet discussed the Chinese missile program and the effect communications satellites exported to China may have had on making Chinese missiles more of a threat to U.S. national security. Tenet, according to sources, also brought the panel up to date on information the intelligence community had gathered on Chinese attempts to influence the U.S. 1996 elections. One of the goals of Shelby's inquiry is to determine whether the Chinese government undertook a covert program to influence the political process in this country.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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