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CUT Th ° bree, Onn i kee ben, Cypser oh Vsbine bepere fe Nb Lojes! = Toit pgilbe ac |Abscam deféid pa FBI Director William Webster, to his credit, doesn’t seem to be in- timidated by congressional threats Congress for methods used in its undercover operation that resulted in the conviction of six House members and a senator on bribery - , and other charges. Committees of ‘ both the Senate and House have’ * been appointed to inquire into Abs- The criticism was especially ara VY CaleR The Hetty tl 42 9A Aen URL ny oe, 2 Fe) ' ts Olan aw lich. te, rae _ o<O4 Lapa over the Abscam investigation. <". © ‘The FBI has taken much abuse in... heavy in the Senate during the re- os cent ouster proceedings against New Jersey Democrat Harrison Williams, who resigned his seat rather than face a vote on expul- sion, ees tyes Abscam, which used a fake Arao « Sheik and a former con man as part of the undercover probe, was called a “sleazy” operation by its critics. Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Cal- if, contended that Abscam ran “to- f tally out of control.” Those who “were indicted and convicted charged that they were “‘en- trapped” by the FBL 7 ”” webster denied during an inter- view the other day that the investi- gation was ever out of control. He said that Abscam was “pu! sely sleazy so that no one would stic: around it except someone who wanted to deal with sleazy people.” And he said that Abscam did not start out asan investigation of congressmen but that congressmen . walked into it — “they found their ~ way tous.” =~ - Webster also made the point that, contrary to congressional views, the public has indicated it wants the FBI to continue investigating corruption in high places. The message that has come through ir “letters to the bureau, he said, is “Don’t let anybody stop you.” We hope Webster and the FB} continue to follow that advice rath- er than heed the warning from Capitol Hill, which clearly is “Leave members of Congres: alone.”.... : TSOMRETRT ROT YH eer ir INANE NNN RRP nM REPT