White House vandalism report delayed

WASHINGTON -- The investigation into last year's White House vandalism has stalled because key staffers have
not been available for interviews for three months, a General Accounting Office investigator told WorldNetDaily.

The report, originally scheduled for release in late September, now won't be out until March, says Bernard Ungar, the GAO official in charge of the
investigation.

Congressional sources are concerned White House employees' recollections of events, already a year old, will only grow foggier. In January 2001, during
the final days of the Clinton administration, departing White House staffers allegedly trashed computers, phones and doors.

Congress ordered GAO, its watchdog agency, to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations in June, after President Bush's spokesman Lawrence A. Fleischer finally released details of the damaged public property.

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During the transition, Bush had been reluctant to confirm vandalism reports, saying he wanted to "move on" from the scandal-plagued Clinton years.

Ungar, GAO director of physical infrastructure issues, says investigators were forced to take about a 90-day break from the case after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"We weren't able to really do any work over at the White House," he said, because officials said they were tied up with security issues.

"Normally, you don't have this kind of a problem getting access to people," he said, but he doubts anyone was intentionally trying not to cooperate with the probe.

"We've just recently been able, right before Christmas, to talk to a few people," Ungar added. "There are still a few more we need to talk to."

Investigators continue to question:

• Clinton and Gore staffers who occupied offices where damage was seen, particularly in Vice President Al Gore's corridor of the Old Executive Office Building.
• Bush staffers who entered the White House in the first days after the inauguration.
• General Services Administration supervisors responsible for the crews who cleaned up White House offices during the transition.
• White House career employees involved in computer and phone services.

As WorldNetDaily first reported Jan. 26, dozens of keyboards were destroyed beyond repair when the contacts under the plastic W keys were gouged out, according to computer workers who replaced them. Also, fixtures were pried off doors, according to a GSA manager, and several phone lines were cut, according to a phone services manager.

The Washington Post confirmed the reported damages several months later. Ungar hopes to wrap up interviews by the end of the month, then draft the report and allow those mentioned in it a chance to respond.

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Requisition orders

He says GAO has also reviewed numerous White House records related to the transition.

"We've looked at just about all the types of records relevant to the areas in question," including requisition orders for equipment and supplies purchased during the transition.

Asked if they've been helpful, Ungar said, "Not particularly."

"There are some records that are good records," he said, "but others aren't, for various reasons."

He would not elaborate.

"Even when the report comes out, people may have different views" about what happened, Ungar said. "There are strong views of the thing" from both the Bush and Clinton camps.

"I don't know if this is going to settle anything," he said, referring to the final report.

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