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August 03, 1978 - Image 14

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Publication:
Michigan Daily, 1978-08-03

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Page 14-Thursday, August 3, 1978-The Michigan Daily
Jaworski unravels Koreagate investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) - Leon Jawor-
ski said yesterday he believes the State
Department gave "considerable heart"
to South Koreans who resisted his in-
vestigation of alleged influence-buying
in Congress.
The investigation remains less com-
plete than was the case with Watergate
because American legal and judicial
processes could not reach overseas to
compel major South Korean figures to
provide needed information, Jaworski
said.
In an exclusive interview reviewing
his year-long effort to unravel the
Korean influence-buying scandal, the
former Watergate special prosecutor
said that overall, Congress "did about
everything they could have done,"
though he criticized some members.
THFE 72-YEAR-OLD Houston attor-
ney said he could not say that Jimmy
Carter's White House "did anything
that was harmful to me," but he also
said he did not know whether it helped
as much as it could.
Asserting that he is leaving the in-

vestigation convinced that "everything
was done that I humanly could do,"
Jaworski bitterly attacked Nwe York
Times columnist William Safire for
suggestions that the inquiry was not
aggressively conducted.
Jaworski said Safire "sought to make
political hay and had a personal vendet-
ta to exercise," stemming from the
Watergate affair.
Safire later disputed Jaworski's facts
and repeated his criticisms of the
House investigation.
THE INVESTIGATION so far has led
to the conviction of one former
congressman, indictment of another,
conviction of a Korea-born
businessman and consideration of
House disciplinary action against four
current congressmen.
But Jaworski said. there is evidence
that former Korean Ambassador Kim
Dong Jo gave substantial sums of
money to between six and 10
congressmen. This remains unproved
because of the Korean government's
refusal to let Kim testify under oath,

Jaworski said.
Even while criticizing State Depar-
tment officials for resisting his efforts
to compel Kim to testify and to threaten
Seoul with a cut in U.S. economic
assistance, Jaworski said, "I have to
assume they acted in good faith."
IN DISCUSSING obstacles he faced,
Jaworski said: "What I wound up with
was even a resistance from our own
State Department. I assume that South
Korea did take considerable heart from
the State Department opposing what I
was trying to do, because it looked
like . ..,we were not on a unanimous
course.'"
State Department officials did not
respond immediately when asked for
comment on Jaworski's statements.
The special counsel to the House
ethics committee said he never took his
problems with State to Carter.
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance told
him that Carter had sent two letters to
South Korean President Park Chung
Hee, but Jaworski knew of no responses
to them.

"THE STATE Department was not in
sympathy with what I was trying to do,
so there wasn't very much purpose in
my going to the President," he said.
"I had understood that there was a
discussion in a Cabinet meeting where
it was expressed that they thought I
was on a course that was beyond what I
should be doing when I was wanting
Kim Dong Jo and advocating strong
measures to obtain Kim Dong Jo."
Asked for comment, a White House
press spokesman said he would have to
research what occurred at the Cabinet
meeting.
ASKED WHETHER his departure at
this point would tarnish the reputation
he won during the final phases of the
Watergate investigation, Jaworski
replied: "I just can't worry about that.
Anyone who knows the facts knows I did
everything I could in the Korean
inquiry. In the public mind, however,
the investigation is incomplete."

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