Reno Tells Congress She Won’t Cave In

Saying she’s found no evidence that President Clinton or Vice President Al Gore broke campaign laws, Attorney General Janet Reno politely told Congress on Wednesday to butt out of the fund-raising probe.

Reno sparred with GOP senators over her refusal to appoint an independent counsel to investigate shady cash to the Democratic National Committee, but said she won’t cave in to pressure.

“Let me be absolutely clear. I am not going to violate any oath in this matter because of any pressure from any quarter, not from the media, not from Congress, not from anywhere else,” Reno told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“We do not have any specific and credible evidence that any covered official violated the law. If at any time I find that the requirements of the independent counsel act have been met, I will not hesitate to invoke it.”

Republicans slammed her legal reasoning, saying a special counsel is eeded after revelations that the White House was controlling the DNC when it accepted $3 million in improper cash.

“All of the persons or entities under investigation have strong ties to the inner circles of the White House. … If this does not present the attorney general with a conflict of interest, I would like to know what does,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the committee’s chairman.

Reno raised eyebrows when she disclosed that Clinton and Gore are both a “potential subject” of the Justice Department investigation.

Justice aides said being a potential subject so early in a probe doesn’t mean the men are in legal trouble.