WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General Janet Reno's Republican critics in Congress say new revelations about the 1993 Branch Davidian standoff bolster their arguments that Reno and her Justice Department have not been forthright with the American people.
Her Democratic defenders warned against politicizing the matter of whether -- contrary to past claims -- the FBI used incendiary tear gas grenades in the final hours before the Davidians' compound near Waco, Texas, went up in flames.Reno said Thursday she was "very, very troubled" by newly received information that pyrotechnic devices may have been used on the last day of the 51-day siege, in which more than 80 people died. She said she and FBI Director Louis Freeh had ordered a full review of the case.
But Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, said he didn't trust Reno and "that's why my committee is going to do a very thorough investigation of this whole matter."
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he also planned investigations into Waco. The GOP presidential hopeful said on "Fox News Sunday" that Reno has generally been stingy in imparting information to Congress, and he complained of a "lack of cooperation from the leadership of the Justice Department."