THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

Today, the Department of Justice and Anthony Lake reached a settlement of a civil case concerning Mr. Lake's stocks. The Department of Justice and Mr. Lake agreed that there is no evidence that Mr. Lake ever took any action to conceal or misrepresent his or his wife's financial holdings.

They also agreed that there is no evidence that Mr. Lake considered any effect or impact his official actions might have had upon his or his wife's interest.

In short, Mr. Lake had no intent to do wrong or to mislead.

Mr. Lake has agreed to the minimum amount the Justice Department has accepted in the past in settling such cases: a payment of $5,000 as acknowledgment that the stocks in question should have been sold. It is important to remember that this is a civil resolution, not a criminal resolution.

This settlement and the 18-month investigation that preceded it, should lay to rest this issue and any questions it has raised about Mr. Lake's personal integrity.

The President believes that Mr. Lake is uniquely qualified to be Director of Central Intelligence and calls upon the Senate to move forward expeditiously with the hearings scheduled for the week of February 25th.

The President was also pleased to learn today that the Justice Department, in a letter to Rep. Henry J. Hyde today, indicates that it has found no evidence of potential criminal violations by Anthony Lake arising out of his role in the issue of Bosnia arms transfers or as a result of various statements made by Mr. Lake to congressional committees and the Intelligence Oversight Board.

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