Editorial: Rushing to judgment on Waco

Sunday, Sept. 12, 1999 | 9:40 a.m.

Attorney General Janet Reno made an excellent decision last week when she named former Republican Sen. John Danforth to head the Waco investigation. Danforth will review the government's handling of the 1993 standoff in Texas, which resulted in the deaths of 80 Branch Davidians. Recently it was revealed that despite repeated denials for six years, federal agents in fact shot two incendiary tear gas canisters at the religious sect's wooden compound. The revelation stunned Reno, who had been misled by federal agents into believing that no incendiary devices were used. Reno decided that only an outside investigation would have the public's trust to get to the truth.

Danforth, who was Missouri's attorney general before becoming a U.S. senator, appropriately has been given sweeping powers. Danforth is a straight arrow known for his independence and has been given the necessary authority to question anyone, including Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh. At the news conference announcing his appointment, Danforth pointedly said the nation could survive bad judgment, "but the thing that really undermines the integrity of government is whether there were bad acts, whether there was a cover-up and whether the government killed people." Danforth added that his job is to "answer the dark questions. How did the fire start? Were there shootings?"

While Danforth is committed to an impartial investigation, key Republicans in the House and Senate are tripping over themselves in a rush to judgment. Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., who is expected to run the House's investigation, already has displayed his bias, saying publicly he doesn't trust Reno. Letting Burton run any Waco probe is a monumental mistake, given Burton's long-standing hostility to the Clinton administration. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., has piled on also, saying Reno should resign because information regarding the government's use of force at Waco had been withheld from Congress. What Lott conveniently omits is that so far there has been no evidence that Reno ever was aware that incendiary devices were used -- she apparently was kept in the dark, too. For that matter, many doubt the two combustible tear gas canisters played a r ole in the Branch Davidian deaths, since they were used several hours before fire engulfed the compound; even independent experts believe David Koresh and other sect members set the fire in a suicide pact.

Congress should play a role in determining what happened at Waco, but so far this Republican-led Congress has not demonstrated it is capable of leading a sober, nonpartisan investigation. One of the ironies -- and obviously lost on Lott and Burton -- is that while some Republicans have accused Reno's Justice Department of not wanting to seek the truth, the reality is they care more about taking partisan cheap shots than finding the truth. Congress would be better served if Lott and Burton took a cue from Danforth on how to conduct a fair investigation that doesn't have a preordained conclusion.