President Clinton defended CIA director-designate Anthony Lake Thursday against sharp questioning on Capitol Hill, saying questions about the nominee's stock holdings are not grounds for disqualification.
Asked if Lake is in trouble and whether he would "go to the mat" to defend the national security adviser, Clinton quickly replied, "No and yes."Lake also came under fire from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., on Wednesday about his role in tacitly approving the delivery of Iranian arms to Bosnian Muslims in 1994. And Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., wondered whether Lake could provide unbiased intelligence to the Clinton administration after having helped devise administration foreign policy.
"How can a person who's been the national security adviser like Anthony Lake, who has participated in the formulation of U.S. policy for the past four years, how is he going to be able to make or do objective analysis?" asked Kerrey, vice-chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Specter, the committee's chairman, said the secret Iranian arms shipments showed a willingness on Lake's part to keep information from Congress.
"I have grave reservations about Mr. Lake and about his sensitivity, given what went on in this matter," Specter said at a hearing.
But White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the Bosnian arms allegations were addressed previously, and the departing CIA director, John Deutch, told lawmakers he had the utmost confidence in Lake's ability to provide unbiased intelligence.
Another problem arose Wednesday with disclosures that Lake, while serving as Clinton's national security adviser in October 1993, did not sell stocks in four energy companies until more than a year after he was told to do so by the White House counsel's office. Lake was instructed to sell the stocks to avoid possible conflict of interest.
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the four stocks were Exxon, Mobil, Duke Power Co. and Teco Energy. When the stocks were sold in July 1995 for $304,000, Lake and his wife netted $24,000 more than they would have received had they sold them when first told to do so, the newspaper said.
Clinton did not dispute the story but said the matter had been reviewed by White House lawyers and, "We believe that it is not a disqualification."
McCurry said Lake ordered his accountant to sell the securities and thought they had in fact been sold. Lake did sell the stock when a 1995 financial disclosure form revealed the securities were still in his portfolio, McCurry said.