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“3 . wet. ne 3 — oe wot FBI direct or defends AbsCam investigation’ __ WASHINGTON — Breaking a long, settimposed Webstersa Silence, FBI Director William H Webster has strongly s . $ ys bureau . defended the FBI's controversial Abscam investigation and has made clear he would use the same undercover YOU I d use fac ti Cc 5 a ga i n . ! —— — ‘ tactics again, ifn . With firmness and occasionally some heat, Webster - : : . 7 oe declared that “we will always follow our leads.” He would stick around it, except someone who wanted 'to dismissed allegations that the investigation, which re- deal withsleazy people,” hesaid. - .. sulted in the d eng of seven members of Congress ® Abscam did not set out to investigate members of n bri and o i cent men er charges, somehow trapped inno- Congress but instead began as an attempt to oie athe ; During a 90-minute interview in his offi ieves. As the inquiry developed, it moved into other ‘ week with et Los Angel os Times reyoriers the last areas and congressmen walked into the net. “We did not - chief and former federal judge offered point-by-point Select any congressmen,” Webster said. “They were replies to criticism of Abscam y Sen. Alan Cranston (D- self-selected. They found their way tous.” _ : lif.) and others. sctane f oti "” Inrapid-fire order, he said that: ¢ Anyone who listens to the FBI tapes of meetings : : co between public officials and undercover’ agents will |__| © The FBI uses “con men” and others with crimi- learn theextent of the corruption. an, nal records in such investigations because that is what it “If you hear those tapes, you get some idea of how takestozatch the guilty. ; —_ ___ blatantly corrupt those discussion were. There wasn’t Abscam was purposely sleazy so that no oné, 2nvthingcovaboutthem.” hoses es ‘ : © Through letters, the public has let the FBI know that it wants the bureau to continue investigating cor-- ruptionin high places. “The message is: Don’t let any- body stop you,” Webster said. ———neem In the Abscam probe, which resulted in the convic- tions of Sen. Harrison A. Williams, who resigned his seat March 11, six House members and 11 others, FBI agents - posed as representatives of a fictitious Arab sheik who was Willing to pay cash for legislative favors, including help in gaining permanent entry into the United States. Webster said he had been “necessarily constrain- ed” in discussing the extraordinary investigation. But with the completion of virtually all trials, and as House and Senate committees prepare for inquiries into the methods used in Abscam, he said he felt free to talk about how the bureau managed the probe. =~ ‘ . © © Webster hotly rejected Cranston’s contention that Abscam ran “totally out of control.” He said the charge, which Cranston made during debate over Williams’ pro- posed expulsion from the Senate, was leveled “in a mo- ment of rhetoric and emotion . . . unsubstantiated by the actual facts.” ae “No one ever said where it was out of control,” Webster said. He noted that U.S. District Judge George H. Pratt of Brooklyn issued a 134-page opinion last July that upheld the conduct of FBI agents in Abscam. ; It was when he was asked whether the FBI would ever conduct another undercover investigation of con- gressmen that Webster said, “The answer is, we will. always follow our leads. _ oo “We always have some operations going where some public official’s name is in the works. It may be pure pult on the part of some confidence man, or it may. He added that the FBI has no investigation under _ way similar “to what happened in Abscam. _ Webster defended the role of a particularly contro-" versial Abscam figure, Mel Weinberg, a convicted “con artist” who helped undercover agents by introducing political figures to the bogus Arab businessmen. : “An undercover operation must have creditibility - with the criminals whom we are investigating,” Webster . said. “It’s very, very difficult to develop that credibility overnight. And it is always difficult for men and women of the character of the FBI to be around someone long. enough to convince them they are fellow criminals with- Out some help.” <r ey | — ee aE Ie en ene inte | ree ar ann er en ee nee I ete ett 7 ~ ee eee scatenciehiiin aoeailiaeeeir init ieici ttc edith dete ae ees “Inet eoea dc i ee SOIC cs a i Aa a aaa ok ad 2x noe ica een ae ee a a