[Mb-civic] Ex-FBI Chief Puts Clinton Critique in Print - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Ex-FBI Chief Puts Clinton Critique in Print
In Book and Interview, Freeh Rails Against Former President's Actions

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 7, 2005; Page A02

Former FBI director Louis J. Freeh has denounced Bill Clinton over the 
scandals that marred his presidency and for his record on terrorism, 
saying the level of distrust was so great that he stayed in his post so 
Clinton could not appoint his successor.

In a forthcoming book and "60 Minutes" interview, Freeh, whose strained 
relations with Clinton were no secret, says he was so determined to 
distance himself from Clinton that he sent back a White House pass so 
that all his visits would be deemed official. This, he said, antagonized 
Clinton.

In an interview with CBS's Mike Wallace to be broadcast Sunday, Freeh 
says: "The problem was with Bill Clinton -- the scandals and the rumored 
scandals, the incubating ones and the dying ones never ended. Whatever 
moral compass the president was consulting was leading him in the wrong 
direction. His closets were full of skeletons just waiting to burst 
out." Freeh cited investigations involving Whitewater, Monica Lewinsky, 
Paula Jones and Gennifer Flowers.

Clinton spokesman Jay Carson said last night: "This is clearly a total 
work of fiction by a man who's desperate to clear his name and sell 
books, and it's unfortunate he'd stoop to this level in his attempt to 
rewrite history." He noted Freeh contributed nearly $20,000 to 
Republicans, including President Bush, in the last campaign.

In his book -- "My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill 
Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror" (St. Martin's Press) -- Freeh 
is scathing toward Clinton's handling of the 1996 bombing at Khobar 
Towers in Saudi Arabia. He says Clinton refused to ask Saudi Crown 
Prince Abdullah to let the FBI question bombing suspects being held by 
the kingdom.

"Bill Clinton raised the subject only to tell the crown prince that he 
understood the Saudis' reluctance to cooperate and then he hit Abdullah 
up for a contribution to the Clinton Presidential Library," Freeh wrote. 
Carson said that was one of the "untruths in a book that's full of them" 
and that Freeh was not at the meetings between Clinton and Abdullah.

Daniel Benjamin, a former Clinton counterterrorism official, said Freeh 
is "factually wrong" and that the former president "pushed the crown 
prince quite hard," and eventually won Saudi cooperation that led to 
indictments in the case. "Freeh has been clearly discredited by the 9/11 
commission and the congressional joint inquiry," Benjamin said.

The Clinton camp says "60 Minutes" would not accept any surrogate to 
rebut Freeh on camera once the former president declined to be interviewed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/06/AR2005100601797.html?nav=hcmodule
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