William P Barr

Re "Barr Blames Hate Crimes on Crumbling Values" (June 13): U.S. Atty. Gen. (William P.) Barr speculates that the rise of hate crimes and anti-Semitism is "fueled by increasing secularism" and linked to "the crumbling of traditional values." Quite the contrary. I believe the rise of hate crimes is a direct result of the resurgence of fundamentalist Christian groups that promote racism, intolerance and violence against women. KATHRYN S. TARBELL Fountain Valley

While the federal government was enticing hundreds of defense industry workers to risk blowing the whistle on alleged fraud, top Justice Department officials were adamantly opposed to the whole effort, according to a 1989 internal agency memo. The memo, a copy of which was obtained Tuesday by The Times, reveals for the first time that Atty. Gen.

Atty. Gen. William P. Barr called for tougher punishment of juvenile offenders to reduce violent crime. Addressing the Wisconsin Governor's Conference on juvenile crime, drugs and gangs, Barr urged changing the system to allow authorities to reach troubled youths earlier. He called for strengthening the family and schools, and reversing governmental policies, such as welfare programs, that he said discourage marriage and reward illegitimate parenthood.

Escalating his battle to save his job, FBI Director William S. Sessions on Sunday questioned the loyalty of the bureau's No. 2 official, Floyd I. Clarke, for failing to warn him about Justice Department findings that he abused his office. Senior FBI officials were stunned by Sessions' comments on ABC-TV's "This Week With David Brinkley," contending that Clarke, the deputy director who runs the bureau's day-to-day operations, has never wavered in his loyalty to Sessions.

The White House announced that Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh will resign soon and be replaced at least temporarily by Deputy Atty. Gen. William P. Barr. White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said in Kennebunkport, Me., where President Bush is vacationing, that Thornburgh "hasn't given us a date yet." Thornburgh is expected to seek the Senate seat left vacant when Sen. John Heinz of Pennsylvania was killed in a plane-helicopter crash near Philadelphia.

U.S. Atty. Gen. William P. Barr has suggested that the rise of anti-Semitism and hate crime in the United States is linked to "the crumbling of traditional values." At a dinner June 7 of Agudath Israel, an Orthodox Jewish movement, he said "current anti-religious activity" may be "fueled by increasing secularization.

THE PIPER STAYS HOME: Atty. Gen. William P. Barr, who joined the Cabinet last year vowing he would take time off this summer to compete in the world bagpipe championship, has quietly shelved the plans. . . . After 2 1/2 months on the job, Barr is convinced he doesn't have the time needed to play with the Denny & Dunipace Band, a group that plans to compete for the world title. One main reason: Practice time comes to six hours a week.

William P. Barr, President Bush's nominee for attorney general, denied that the Justice Department was taking too long to act on the Bank of Credit & Commerce International scandal. "All allegations that have surfaced are being pursued vigorously," Barr told the Senate Judiciary Committee. He said further evidence was needed before indictments could be sought.

Insisting that it was not an election-year gambit, Atty. Gen. William P. Barr on Tuesday recommended 24 ways to fight violent crime at the state and local level, with an emphasis on tougher penalties, longer sentences and more prisons. Many of the measures have already been adopted by the federal government and, to a lesser extent, several states, including California.

For congressional watchdogs assigned to keep tabs on the executive branch, an order to look into something at the Justice Department used to ruin their day. When Dick Thornburgh was attorney general, he routinely refused to meet with them at all, and his aides continually challenged their authority to investigate sensitive subjects.

FBI Director William S. Sessions, in an extraordinary public attack on his former superior, charged Saturday that ex-Atty. Gen. William P. Barr acted out of "animus" and "anger" toward him in approving a Justice Department investigation that found Sessions had used his office for personal gain. Sessions claimed that Barr "was in league with others who were determined to scuttle the director."

Atty. Gen. William P. Barr has disciplined FBI Director William S. Sessions for misuse of government funds and refusing to cooperate in a Justice Department investigation into his personal finances, sources familiar with the extraordinary action said Saturday.

A Justice Department special counsel said Wednesday that he had found evidence of criminal misconduct by a few members of Congress in their dealings with the scandal-stained House bank, and the department immediately opened a full investigation to determine whether it should prosecute. Atty. Gen. William P. Barr, responding to the final report by former federal Judge Malcolm R.

Outgoing Atty. Gen. William P. Barr, reflecting on his tenure under President Bush, called Tuesday for eliminating the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and for insisting on "full cooperation" of Latin American countries in the drug war. "I don't think it works to superimpose someone who doesn't have substantial operating resources over those agencies that do," he said in an interview. "You can't have a staff function serving as commander in chief" in fighting drugs.

Under mounting pressure from Democrats, Atty. Gen. William P. Barr on Friday named a highly regarded former federal judge to conduct a special investigation of Justice Department and CIA actions related to the Iraqi loan scandal. The move drew immediate criticism from Democrats who contended Barr should have distanced his department from the investigation by seeking appointment of an independent counsel who, under federal law, would be selected by and report to a panel of three judges.

Atty. Gen. William P. Barr refused Tuesday to authorize an independent prosecutor to investigate charges that high-level Justice Department officials stole software from a computer company and conspired to drive it into bankruptcy. Barr rejected a call for the independent counsel made on Sept. 10 by House Democrats. In a two-page statement, he said there was not enough specific information against high-level department officials to warrant an independent investigation.

Atty. Gen. William P. Barr refused Tuesday to authorize an independent prosecutor to investigate charges that high-level Justice Department officials stole software from a computer company and conspired to drive it into bankruptcy. Barr rejected a call for the independent counsel made on Sept. 10 by House Democrats. In a two-page statement, he said there was not enough specific information against high-level department officials to warrant an independent investigation.

The FBI, in the wake of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, is studying a major reordering of its resources, Atty. Gen. William P. Barr said in an interview Friday. Although Barr declined to discuss details of the study, which he had requested, it presumably will raise the possibility of shifting some of the large number of agents now doing foreign counterintelligence work to fighting domestic crime.

The federal judge presiding over a case involving $5 billion in hidden bank loans that helped finance Iraq's military buildup criticized Atty. Gen. William P. Barr on Wednesday for refusing to seek an independent prosecutor to investigate the Bush Administration's prewar Iraq policy. U.S. District Judge Marvin H. Shoob said he does not believe the former bank manager accused of masterminding the loan scheme acted alone and fears the whole story will not be known without a special prosecutor.

Atty. Gen. William P. Barr on Monday rejected a congressional request for an independent counsel to investigate whether high-level Bush Administration officials violated the law in carrying out and defending their prewar policy toward Iraq.