HOUSE PUSHES TIGHTER ETHICS FOR U.S. PROSECUTORS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Charging that too many federal prosecutors --
including independent counsels -- are abusing their powers, the House
Wednesday voted to tighten controls on Justice Department prosecutors.

The House approved a plan that would order federal prosecutors to comply
with ethical standards of the individual states in which they were operating
and to set up an independent review board for complaints on prosecutors'
conduct.

A number of Democrats took the opportunity to blast independent counsel
Kenneth Starr, who was appointed by Attorney General Janet Reno to probe
accusations against President Clinton.

Rep. Maxine Waters of California called him "the poster-boy for unethical
prosecutors. What we are talking about is individuals who have run wild, who
have trampled on our rights." "For months we have heard complaints about
prosecutorial misconduct, including leaks, by Independent Counsel Starr,"
said Rep. John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat who sponsored the measure to
include the independent counsel.

Conyers said he had been "frustrated by the inability to obtain a fair
process to review these allegations," and said the House "has spoken clearly
and unambiguously that such complaints should and will be heard in the
future."

The House voted 249-182 for an amendment to specify that independent
counsels or special prosecutors would be under the new controls, then voted
345-82 against an amendment to strip the new ethics controls from the $33
billion spending bill for the Commerce, Justice and State departments the
House was considering.

Critics said this plan -- opposed by Reno -- would undermine multi-state
investigations of racketeering and drug operations, hamstringing prosecutors
with conflicting state standards and the threat of the oversight board that
could make their entire cases public.

"This is a law enforcement issue. This would jeopardize our fight in the war
against drugs. The winner would be the drug cartels, fraudulent
telemarketing operations and Internet pornographers," said Arkansas
Republican Rep. Asa Hutchinson, who said law enforcement organizations such
as police, sheriffs, and drug enforcement groups oppose the change.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Ed Bryant said the under the plan, "allegations of
bringing discredit on the (Justice) department could stop a prosecution,
diverting attention from the underlaying investigation to the misconduct
investigation."

But backers offered the case of Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Joseph McDade,
a co-sponsor of the measure who was acquitted in 1996 after an eight-year
legal battle over charges he accepted gifts from defense contractors in
return for helping them get federal contracts.

"I sat beside the gentleman from Pennsylvania for eight years while he was
under under persecution" by federal prosecutors, Rep. John Murtha, a
Pennsylvania Democrat, said.

"What chance would an individual have against the Justice Department if they
would go after one of the most prominent members of Congress?" Murtha said.

Murtha claimed that federal prosecutors hounded McDade, using leaks and
other unethical methods.

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