Here's a quote to consider:

"(I promise) the most ethical administration in the history of the Republic."

- Bill Clinton, as quoted in the Washington Post, Jan. 24, 1993.

Here's another quote to consider:

It came from House Majority Leader Dick Armey. He was talking on CNN last weekend about all those FBI files found in the White House.

He said, "The president says he didn't read the files - nobody read the files. This is like 'I didn't inhale.' It has about the same level of credibility."

After receiving a subpoena for Travelgate documents, President Clinton invoked "executive privilege" and refused to turn the documents over to Congress.

After Congress threatened contempt charges, Clinton relented and gave up 1,000 of the 3,000 subpoenaed pages.

One of the documents turned over to Congress indicated that an unsigned request had been made to the FBI for files on Billy Dale. (Dale was the White House travel office director who was fired and replaced by President Clinton's cousin. The FBI gave the White House 22 letters and reports on Dale.)

The unsigned request carried the name of then-White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum. But Nussbaum denied knowledge of the request. The White House has never explained why the files were sought some seven months after Dale was fired.

Days later it was revealed that the administration sought FBI files on more than 300 individuals. Lots of them were ex-White House officials from the Reagan and Bush administrations.

President Clinton promised us the most ethical administration. But what he promised and what he has delivered are two vastly different things.

This FBI files flap is just another indication that the Clinton administration may go down in history as one of the most unethical.

Consider Whitewater, Travelgate and the record number of Clinton officials under investigation by special prosecutors. Consider that Clinton officials have been forced to resign and have even been indicted.

This latest FBI files thing really bugs me because Clinton refused to sign a waiver making his FBI files public.

It was in October 1992 before the election. Several news organizations asked to take a look at Clinton's FBI file. They couldn't because those files are confidential. The files contained information about Clinton's anti-Vietnam War activities and efforts to avoid the draft.

So they asked Clinton to sign a waiver. He refused their request.

Clinton spokeswoman Dee Dee Myers, quoted on Oct. 26, 1992, said, "It's a personal file. He's not going to do it."

I guess that's OK.

But then is it OK for Clinton's administration to rummage through other files? I don't think so.

And this isn't the first time.

In late 1993, the Clinton State Department ordered up the personnel files of 160 former Bush administration appointees and leaked them to the media.

The San Francisco Examiner reported the following on Nov. 9, 1993:

"State Department investigators say two Clinton administration appointees may have broken the law by disclosing information from the personnel files of Bush administration officials. ... The findings stem from an investigation into the Clinton official's decision to retrieve from storage the files of 160 employees appointed by President George Bush."

And guess what the excuse was back then?

"The state department said the officials had gotten the files 'by mistake' from storage after requesting other materials."

Sound familiar?

On Monday, the Washington Post reported, "Clinton called the episode a 'completely honest bureaucratic snafu.'"

And Clinton adviser George Stephanopolous, quoted in the New York Times, actually called on Republicans to apologize for even suggesting that something wrong might be going on. "Instead of making these charges, they should be apologizing for their original false charge."

Frankly, I think there are lots of unanswered questions concerning this latest Clinton administration mess. But you can bet there will be stonewalling and posturing and very few answers.

I think Americans deserve to know what goes on in the White House and why - regardless of who's in power.

And I think this latest attempt by the Clinton administration to gather information on the opposition through the use of confidential FBI files is a chilling abuse of power. [[In-content Ad]]