CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

February - March 1997

The Failure of Anthony Lake's Nomination as DCI

Materials presented chronologically.

Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. Editors. "Hearings on CIA Nominee Delayed for Probes." 1 Feb. 1997, 303.

Smith, R. Jeffrey, and Walter Pincus. "Lake Makes Overt Sales Pitch for CIA Directorship." Washington Post, 2 Feb. 1997, A, 1 A10, A11. "Campaigning for Spymaster." Washington Post National Weekly Edition, 10 Feb. 1997, 29.

Lake has been making contacts with active and retired CIA officers, including nearly every former DCI, in a "carefully orchestrated campaign to transform potential skeptics around Washington into believers that Lake is the right man for the job."

Weiner, Tim. "Conservatives Attack C.I.A. Nominee." New York Times, 3 Feb. 1997, A12 (N).

SSCI Chairman Shelby has expressed doubts about Anthony Lake's nomination as DCI. One concern is Lake's failure to notify Congress of the administration's tacit approval of Iranian arms shipments to the Bosnian Moslems. Conservative groups are also raising conerns that Lake is a closet liberal. Nonetheless, support has been voiced by former DCI Robert Gates and Senator John McCain.

Pincus, Walter. "GOP Report Questions Lake's Honesty on Iran-Bosnia Arms Testimony." Washington Post, 6 Feb. 1997, A18.

Gruenwald, Juliana. "Lake Faces Tough Scrutiny Over Policies, Finances." Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, 8 Feb. 1997, 373.

Brinkley, Douglas. "The Right Choice for the C.I.A.: Lake Is a Victim of the Far Right." New York Times, 10 Feb. 1997, A15 (N).

"Mr. Lake has been on the radical right's enemies list since 1970.... But if his detractors examined his record, they would see that he is not the ideological foe they portray him to be."

Pincus, Walter, and Pierre Thomas. "Citing NSC Meetings and Lake's Finances, Shelby Again Delays Hearings." Washington Post, 12 Feb. 1997, A18.

Weiner, Tim. "Another Delay in Senate Hearings Over Nominee for Head of C.I.A.." New York Times, 12 Feb. 1997, A1, A14 (N).

The SSCI Chairman, Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, has for the third time postponed hearings on Anthony Lake's nomination as DCI. The new date is 11 March 1997.

New York Times. "[Editorial:] Start the Hearings on Mr. Lake." 13 Feb. 1997, A16 (N).

"Mr. Lake deserves a chance to address the criticisms and to make the case for confirmation. Hearings should commence this month, not in March or on some other date that suits a strategy of attrition."

Washington Post. "[Editorial:] Start the Hearings on Mr. Lake." 13 Feb. 1997, A32.

Baker, Peter, and Helen Dewar. "Clinton Pushes Senate to Confirm Lake in Sign He'll Fight for CIA Choice." Washington Post, 14 Feb. 1997, A9.

Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report. Editors. "Shelby Again Delays Hearing on Lake Nomination." 15 Feb. 1997, 440.

Pincus, Walter. "Lake Says He Did Not Meet with Fund-Raising Principals." Washington Post, 15 Feb. 1997, A19.

Pincus, Walter. "More Papers Requested in Lake Review." Washington Post, 27 Feb. 1997, A4.

Pincus, Walter. "Two on Panel 'Lean' Toward Backing Lake." Washington Post, 28 Feb. 1997, A10.

Weiner, Tim. "Leaders in Senate Demand F.B.I. Files on C.I.A. Nominee; Confirmation in Limbo." New York Times, 28 Feb. 1997, A1, A12 (N).

SSCI Chairman Richard Shelby has demanded that the administration turn over to the Senate the raw data in the FBI files on Anthony Lake. He says that without the files there will be no hearings.

Pincus, Walter. "Showdown Vote Sought on CIA Nomination." Washington Post, 1 Mar. 1997, A7.

Cooper, Matthew. "An Unlikely Tough Guy: Tony Lake May Be Tweedy, But He Relishes Hardball." Newsweek, 3 Mar. 1997, 52.

DCI-nominee Lake is encountering difficulties with SSCI Chairman Richard Shelby on at least two fronts: His role in the White House's policy on ignoring Iranian arms shipments to Bosnia and the Asian money scandal surrounding contributions to President Clinton's election campaign.

Weiner, Tim. "Panel Chairman To Go Forward with Hearings on C.I.A. Nominee." New York Times, 5 Mar. 1997, A9 (N).

SSCI Chairman schedules nomination hearing for DCI-nominee Anthony Lake for 11 March 1997, after two postponements.

Gruenwald, Juliana. "Lake Hearings Are Set to Begin; Shelby Still Seeks Full FBI File." Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, 8 Mar. 1997, 598.

Weiner, Tim. "Lake Is Alive But Only Just[;] Pure Politics with C.I.A." New York Times, 11 Mar. 1997, A12 (N).

Weiner, Tim. "Nominee for C.I.A. in Tense Hearing." New York Times, 12 Mar. 1997, A1, A15 (N).

Report on first day of Lake nomination hearings.

Weiner, Tim. "C.I.A. Nominee Works Hard to Sway Panel." New York Times, 13 Mar. 1997, A13 (N).

Report on second day of Lake nomination hearings.

Weiner, Tim. "Angry Exchanges Interrupt Lake Questioning." New York Times, 14 Mar. 1997, A12 (N).

Report on third day of Lake nomination hearings.

New York Times. "[Editorial:] The Anthony Lake Nomination." 14 Mar. 1997, A16 (N).

Expresses concern about Lake's "anemic response to the campaign fund-raising abuses swirling around him while he was Mr. Clinton's national security adviser."

Gruenwald, Juliana. "Lake Pledges 'Unvarnished' Reports if Confirmed as CIA Chief." Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, 15 Mar. 1997, 653.

Weiner, Tim. "Lake Pulls Out as Nominee for C.I.A., Assailing Hearing as Endless Political Circus." New York Times, 18 Mar. 1997, A1, A12 (N).

Anthony Lake withdrew his nomination to be DCI on 17 March 1997.

[Lake, Anthony.] "Excerpts from a Sharply Worded Letter of Withdrawal." New York Times, 18 Mar. 1997, A12 (N).

Despite the headline for this item, it is the text, as released, of Anthony Lake's letter to President Clinton, withdrawing his nomination to be DCI. Lake's position can be summed up in the following quote: "Washington has gone haywire."

Harris, John F., and R. Jeffrey Smith. "What Sank Tony Lake? The CIA Nominee Was Imperiled from the Start, but Many Agree that the System Went 'Haywire.'" Washington Post National Weekly Edition, 24 Mar. 1997, 12.

Washington Post. "[Editorial:] ...And the Tony Lake Affair." Washington Post National Weekly Edition, 24 Mar. 1997, 25.

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