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Pe ere | - tig - ( _ 7 e to ‘From A-1 2 @ The FBI uses “con men” and others with crimi- ' nal records in such inves- ...tigations because that is ; What it takes to catch the ’ guilty. “Abscam was pur- Posely sleazy so that no one would stick around it, except someone who }. wanted to deal with slea- >” - zy people,” he said. Bae. @ Abscam did not set . out to investigate mem- £°. . bers of Congress but in-* 4 = Stead began as-an attempt ; °” “=, oe ‘to catch art thieves. As i og the inquiry developed, it wwe... i moved into other areas William Webster and congressmen walked into the net. “We did not ~ select any congressmen,” Webster said. “They were self-selected.” - : @ Anyone who listens to the FBI tapes of meet- ’ ings between public officials and undercover agents . will learn the extent of the cornuption. “If you hear those tapes, you get some idea of how - blatantly corrupt those discussions were. There . _ wasn't anything coy about them.” ' @ Through letters, the public has Jet the FBI know that it wants the bureau-to continue investi- . gating corruption in high places. “The message is: Don't let anybody stop you,” Webster said. In the Abscam probe, which resulted in the con- victions of Democratic Sen. Harrison Williams of New Jersey, 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 U.S. residency. * Webster said he had been “necessarily con- strained” until now in discussing the extraordinary investigation. But with the completion of all the tri- als, and as House and Senate committees prepare for inquiries into the Abscam methods, he said he . now felt free to talk about 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’ proposed expulsion from the Senate, was: leveled "in a moment of rhetoric and emotion ... unsubstantiated by the actual facts.” . It was when he was asked whether the FBI would ever conduct another undercover investigation of congressmen that Webster said, “The answer is, we will always follow our leads.” ; ; * Of the seven members of Congress, including Fldr- ida Rep. Richard Kelly, who were convicted of brib- ery and other Abscam crimes, one member, Demo- cratic Rep. Michael Myers of Pennsylvania, was expelled. Williams and Democratic Rep. Raymond Lederer of Pennsylvania resigned under threat of ex- pulsion and the others were defeated for re-election. - . ——ey ey IMSS” ta eR SOAS 2 BGI SIRE ony i, i 4 ENCLOSHRE, -. FBI chief defends tactics of Abscam' Los Angeles Times - WASHINGTON — Breaking a long, self-imposed silence, FBI Director William Webster has strongly ~ defended the FBI’s controversial Abscam investiga- tion and has made it clear that he would use the same undercover methods again, if necessary... . With firmness and occasionally some heat, Web- : . Ster declared that “we will always follow our leads.” And he dismissed allegations that the investigation, which resulted in the conviction of seven members of Congress on bribery and other charges, somehow trapped innocent men. During a 90-minute interview in his office, the FBI. chief and former federal judge offered point-by-point replies to criticism of Abscam by Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston of California and other legislators. In response to the questions, Webster said: . ’ . _ . Please see ABSCAM, A-6 MonoQprul 19 ~/49 2 - a Gulinif Shans Lt