Steven K Berry

With the U.S. waging a war in Iraq that relies heavily on wireless communications, a controversial Bush administration plan to transfer valuable airwaves from the military to the mobile phone industry is coming under new scrutiny. Accommodating growing consumer demand for high-speed mobile Internet access -- as well as for ordinary cell phone calls -- is a crucial challenge for the White House.

With the U.S. waging a war in Iraq that relies heavily on wireless communications, a controversial Bush administration plan to transfer valuable airwaves from the military to the mobile phone industry is coming under new scrutiny. Accommodating growing consumer demand for high-speed mobile Internet access -- as well as for ordinary cell phone calls -- is a crucial challenge for the White House.

Fired State Department official Elizabeth M. Tamposi has told investigators that the White House demanded a search of Bill Clinton's passport records to try to substantiate charges by conservative congressmen that the Democratic presidential nominee had considered renouncing his citizenship during the Vietnam War, sources familiar with her testimony said Sunday.

In a stinging report, the State Department's inspector general concluded Wednesday that overzealous political appointees subverted government regulations in their search through Democrat Bill Clinton's passport file in an unsuccessful effort to find damaging information that could be used by President Bush's reelection campaign.

In a stinging report, the State Department's inspector general concluded Wednesday that overzealous political appointees subverted government regulations in their search through Democrat Bill Clinton's passport file in an unsuccessful effort to find damaging information that could be used by President Bush's reelection campaign.

Independent counsel Joseph diGenova named a staff of eight attorneys Tuesday for his investigation into possible criminal activity by high-ranking White House officials in the pre-election search of President Clinton's passport and consular files. DiGenova said he had "brought on board a sufficient number of assistants for a thorough and expeditious investigation," though he would not predict how long his inquiry would take.

The Justice Department has taken the first step toward possibly appointing an independent counsel to investigate the Bush Administration's presidential campaign search of State Department files for material damaging to then-candidate Bill Clinton, government officials said Thursday.

A Republican congressman demanded the State Department investigate rumors that Bill Clinton had considered renouncing his citizenship about the time department officials searched Clinton's passport records, a statement from the lawmaker's office said Monday. However, the lawmaker's letter citing Clinton was written after his passport records had been searched. Clinton, now President-elect, has denied that he ever contemplated such a move and no evidence to the contrary has been found.

The Bush administration is falling behind in an ambitious effort to deliver airwaves for high-speed, wireless Internet access and other advanced services. In the process, the administration has managed to turn the educational establishment and the military into bitter rivals. As Europe and Asia push ahead with high-speed wireless networks, the mobile-phone industry fears that a planned government auction of airwaves this year might be postponed until at least 2003.

Court documents filed by the Justice Department say there is evidence that White House political director Janet G. Mullins helped encourage and direct the search of Bill Clinton's passport files. The documents, disclosed Monday, were filed by Atty. Gen. William P. Barr on Dec. 10 to support his request for an independent counsel in the case. They do not specify the nature of the evidence. But it was weighed by a special three-judge panel that then named Joseph E.

Fired State Department official Elizabeth M. Tamposi has told investigators that the White House demanded a search of Bill Clinton's passport records to try to substantiate charges by conservative congressmen that the Democratic presidential nominee had considered renouncing his citizenship during the Vietnam War, sources familiar with her testimony said Sunday.

Former Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth M. Tamposi had Bill Clinton's passport records delivered to her home on the night of Sept. 30 after the documents were found during an unusual evening search by three Tamposi deputies at a National Archives warehouse in Suitland, Md., according to knowledgeable sources.