GOP Says Staff Changes Not Enough

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, June 18) -- Congressional Republicans say jettisoning staff won't be enough to quell their concerns over how the White House may have used information in more than 400 improperly obtained FBI files.

"Reshuffling staff and promises of a review made under the cover of darkness doesn't begin to answer the questions raised by the egregious actions of the Clinton White House," Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) told the Associated Press.

Craig Livingstone, the head of the White House personnel office that collected the files, was placed on administrative leave Monday evening, pending a White House review of the file flap.

White House lawyer Jack Quinn, appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live," said the changes in the office are designed "to restore confidence" in how the White House handles sensitive information (230K WAV sound).

Livingstone will remain on paid leave, Quinn said, until the file incident is clarified to the satisfaction of Chief of Staff Leon Panetta.

"I want to be clear here: this is not a punitive measure, this is not a disciplinary action," Quinn said. "This is an action that Mr. Livingstone has asked us to take and I think it's the right thing for him to do (140K WAV sound)."

Quinn said Livingstone called him and requested the leave Monday night, apparently after he was questioned by investigators from the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. The House panel begins hearings on the FBI files controversy Wednesday.

Accusing Republicans of jumping to conclusions, Quinn said: "I'm not interested at this point in shooting first and asking questions later."

Livingstone, 37, has long been a low-level functionary in Democratic Party politics with more background in political work than in security. He worked on Gary Hart's staff when he ran for president in 1984 and 1988 and was on Al Gore's vice presidential advance team in 1992.

The White House has said the FBI files -- many on leading Republicans -- were obtained through an honest, bureaucratic mistake and no improper use was made of the information in them.

GOP Says Staff Changes Not Enough

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