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                         White House Press Release

             Statement By Jack Quinn, Counsel To The President

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                         The White House

                  Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release                             June 14, 1996

        Statement By Jack Quinn, Counsel To The President

     We have today put in place a series of reforms governing the
way in which the White House requests background information from
the Fbi.

     These reforms include a provision requiring that a current
consent form signed by the individual who is the subject of the
background check be provided to the Fbi before background
information can be released to the White House.  These reforms
will impose rigorous procedures to protect both the privacy of
individuals and the integrity of this process.

     In arriving at these reforms, my office communicated our
intentions to the Fbi Counsel's Office to ensure that our efforts
would work well with any changes being contemplated by the Fbi.
We have been told by the Fbi that they believe our reforms, along
with reforms they will be announcing today, will operate together
effectively.

                             -more-

                          June 14, 1996

Memorandum For Leon Panetta
                 Chief Of Staff

From:            Jack Quinn
                         Counsel To The President

Subject:         White House Requests To The Fbi

     As you know, the White House has historically requested
information from the Fbi in order to evaluate the suitability of
persons for Presidential appointments, nominations and
recognition, employment at the White House, and access to the
White House.  In light of recent events, I have instituted the
following rules and procedures to cover White House requests to
the Fbi for background investigation information, effective
immediately:

     1.   White House requests to the Fbi for background
          investigation information will be made only with the
          express written consent of the individual who is the
          subject of the investigation.

     ??   This rule applies to requests for any information
               beyond the type of computerized criminal history
               check required in the regular appointment
               clearance process at the White House complex.

     ??   The individual's consent must be current.
               Specifically, it must have been signed by the
               individual within thirty days of the White House
               request to the Fbi.

     ??   The individual's express written consent must accompany
               the request made by the White House to the Fbi for
               the information.

          ?    No information may be obtained without the
               individual's consent except in extraordinary
               circumstances set forth in a letter of
               justification to the General Counsel of the Fbi
               signed by the Counsel to the President and
               concurred in by the Attorney General or the Deputy
               Attorney General.

     2.   Each request to the Fbi must be approved and signed by
          the Counsel to the President or a specifically
          designated Counsel's Office attorney whose regular
          duties include the review of such information.  Each
          request must also be signed by the security or vetting
          officer who initiates the request.

     ??   Signing for or in the name of another is prohibited.

     ??   The security or vetting officer who initiates the
               request must certify that the request is made for
               official purposes only.

          ?    The Counsel to the President will provide to the
               Fbi the names of no more than three Counsel's
               Office attorneys who, in addition to the Counsel,
               are authorized to approve White House requests to
               the Fbi for background information.  No other
               persons may approve such requests.

     3.   Each request must identify the reason why the
          information is being requested (e.g., Presidential
          nomination, White House staff security clearance).

     4.   Only those White House employees authorized in writing
          by the Chief of Staff and the Counsel to the President
          whose assigned duties require the review or processing
          of such information will have access to Fbi background
          investigations.

                   *            *            *

     We communicated these changes, in proposed form, to the
relevant officials of the Fbi in order to make sure that our
procedural reforms will be workable when taken together with
changes the Fbi is considering.  These reforms were acceptable to
the Fbi and, so, we are now moving forward with them.  In
addition, I am requesting that the Fbi assist us as promptly as
possible in a thorough review of the background investigation
files that we currently have to make sure that all of the files
that were requested mistakenly have been returned to the Fbi.



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