Reprinted from The Washington Times , 5am -- April 21, 1998
Labor changes stand on lending key investigator
By Bill Sammon
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Under fierce criticism from Republicans, the Labor Department last night reversed its 4-day-old decision to bar a key investigator from working on a House probe of the Teamsters.
The department announced its reversal just hours after being accused by Rep. Peter Hoekstra, Michigan Republican, of obstructing his investigation into the scandal-wracked union.
The investigator, Stephen Silbiger, had accused his superiors at Labor of sidelining him for political reasons.
"They believe that somehow it's a conflict of interest to try to find out what the truth is in the Teamsters union," Mr. Silbiger said yesterday before the reversal. "Clearly the Clinton administration and the Labor Department have no interest in finding out the truth."
Joseph diGenova, a lawyer on Mr. Hoekstra's probe, called Labor Department officials "the lap dogs of the labor movement" who do not want Mr. Silbiger investigating the Teamsters "because they know how knowledgeable he is."
Mr. Silbiger, a lawyer who once worked as a lobbyist for the American Federation of State, Municipal and County Employees, was asked by House Republicans in late January to lend his expertise to the Teamsters probe, which is being handled by the investigations subcommittee of the Education and Workforce Committee.
Mr. Silbiger, who was already detailed to another House panel, said he began spending up to 10 hours a week of his own time on the Teamsters investigation while he waited to be officially reassigned to the case. Rep. Bill Goodling, Pennsylvania Republican and chairman of the work force committee, asked Labor Secretary Alexis Herman in a March 11 letter to put Mr. Silbiger on the Teamsters probe full time.
Republicans said Labor Department officials dragged their feet for weeks, even though it took them only a day to approve another labor lawyer's reassignment to the office of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, last year.
On Thursday, a staffer from the work force committee met with several Labor Department officials, including acting solicitor Marvin Krislov, who formerly worked in the White House counsel's office.
"Krislov said that the department would be unable to comply with our request for Mr. Silbiger's services and cited concerns over conflict of interest," wrote Mr. Goodling and Mr. Hoekstra in a letter to Miss Herman on Friday. "We disagree that there is a potential conflict of interest and consider this yet another tactic to prevent Mr. Silbiger from aiding in the Teamsters investigation."
The letter asked Miss Herman to approve Mr. Silbiger's reassignment by yesterday. Meanwhile, Mr. Silbiger began to worry that his work on the Teamsters probe had made him "a marked man" at the Labor Department. Over the weekend, Hoekstra committee officials assured Mr. Silbiger that the panel would hire him full-time if he were fired by the Labor Department.
Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Hoekstra told The Washington Times, "The Labor Department is obstructing our efforts to move this investigation along quicker."
Hours after Mr. Hoekstra's comments were made known to the Labor Department, officials there announced they were approving Mr. Silbiger's reassignment. The reversal was "based on assurances received from Chairman Goodling and Chairman Hoekstra, and after discussions with congressional staff," according to a department official who asked not to be identified.
"The department carefully and appropriately evaluated concerns that the lawyer's work for the subcommittee might raise a conflict of interest under legal ethics rules," the official said. "The department's review of this matter was guided by a standard protocol."
Mr. Silbiger expressed relief at the decision but stopped short of accepting the job. "I have to think about it," he said.
- Jerry Seper contributed to this report.
Copyright 1998 News World Communications, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of
The Washington Times.
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