THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
January 20, 1998
PRESS BRIEFING BY MIKE MCCURRY [EXCERPT]
The Briefing Room

............

Q: Mike, can you comment on former Ambassador Seitz's claim that the
White House leaked sensitive British Intelligence information to the
IRA? And also if the President is concerned that that could damage his
relationship with the Protestant majority there?

MCCURRY: Well, first of all, the United States, if you ask officials
of the government of the United Kingdom or the government of the
Republic of Ireland, would be the first to say that the United States
and this administration have played an enormously positive role in the
process that's now unfolding in the all-party talks that are occurring
in Belfast; that without some courageous decisions made by this
President to help the parties break the ice, that we might not be at
the moment in which there is the first realistic prospect of a
negotiated peace in well over a generation. And I have not heard any
official of either of the two governments to dispute that.

We work day in and day out with the government of the United Kingdom,
including in the period of 1994 in which the former ambassador writes
about, and we had very close working relationships with him. The
President has full faith and confidence in Ambassador Smith. She has
discharged her responsibilities as Ambassador with great energy,
imagination, and diligence.

I want to correct one thing I said this morning in response to Sam. I
did not mean to be cavalier about allegations of leaks of sensitive
intelligence information. Obviously, we take those matters seriously,
and if it's proper to pursue those, they get pursued.

Q: But will you ask her? That was the question I really wanted you to
address.

MCCURRY: I think it would be proper for me not to comment any further
on what I just said.

Q: I don't mean you, personally, but will someone ask the ambassador
if these charges are correct?

MCCURRY: As I say, when it's proper for those types of matters to be
pursued, they get pursued within this government because we take --

Q:  But you just now said this is proper to pursue.

MCCURRY: -- we take seriously allegations of leaks about intelligence
information. But I'm not the person and this is not the place to
comment about intelligence matters.

Q: I'm not asking you to comment about intelligence matters. Do I take
it correctly, though, by saying you did not mean to be cavalier -- and
I certainly accept that -- that in fact now this is being taken
seriously and someone is looking into it?

MCCURRY: I think it would be more appropriate for me to just say what
I just said, that we don't comment on sensitive intelligence matters.