|
03/03/93
Agency in charge is unclear; FBI, Treasury each has claim
By Steve McGonigle / The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON-Federal supervision of the standoff with a religious sect near Waco remained unclear Tuesday, with officials of the FBI and Treasury Department giving conflicting statements about which agency was in charge.
FBI spokesman Bill Carter described the effort as a shared operation with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, an arm of the Treasury Department. But he said an elite FBI unit was in control of hostage rescue efforts.
"It's a joint effort. There is very close coordination,' he said.
A spokesman for the firearms bureau, Les Stanford, said his agents
remained responsible for the operation, which began Sunday morning with an abortive attempt to arrest David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidian sect.
"ATF remains in control,' Mr. Stanford said.
The operation, which was eight months in the planning, has been
plagued by communication problems. Jack Killorin, a spokesman for the ATF, said Monday in Washington that that an undercover agent overheard Mr. Koresh receive a phone call Sunday morning apparently tipping the sect to a planned raid.
Neither the ATF nor the FBI was talking to hundreds of reporters gathered near the scene of the standoff.
Monday, sect members identified the chief federal negotiator as Jim Cavanaugh, a special agent in the Dallas office of the firearms bureau.
Tuesday, it was the FBI requesting Dallas radio station KRLD-AM (1080) to air a statement by Mr. Koresh that he made a condition for ending the standoff.
Treasury spokesman Jack De-Vore said both agencies had control. He said the FBI began handling hostage rescue efforts Monday, but the ATF retained overall supervisory responsibility for the operation.
"The FBI has the lead role,' he said. "The situation has now become a hostage situation.'
Mr. DeVore said Treasury agents requested the assistance of the FBI's 51-member Hostage Rescue Team, but FBI spokesman Carter said the request to deploy the unit came from the head of the FBI office in San Antonio.
The FBI spokesman said the heads of three of its field offices were on the scene with three tactical units, the hostage team and other agents.
Mr. Stanford would not disclose the number of treasury agents at the scene, although other sources have put the number at more than 100.
Asked which agency would take charge when the standoff ends, Mr.
Carter said both FBI and Treasury agents would participate in arrests but that the ATF would retake the lead investigative role.
Mr. DeVore said Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen was not told in advance of the operation. But he said the ATF had notified John Simpson, the acting assistant treasury secretary for enforcement.
Since returning from an overseas trip, Mr. Bentsen has been briefed by firearms officials as well as FBI Director William Sessions, Mr. De-Vore said.
Mr. Bentsen also spoke with President Clinton about the operation, as had Mr. Sessions, their spokesmen said.
|
Back to Top
