Deaver Calls for Inquiry by Independent Counsel : Conflict-of-Interest Charge Prompts Move by Ex-Reagan Aide

WASHINGTON â€”  Lobbyist Michael K. Deaver Monday asked Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III to seek appointment of an independent counsel to investigate allegations that he has violated conflict-of-interest laws in the 11 months since he resigned as President Reagan’s deputy chief of staff.

Meese, however, removed himself from the politically charged investigation, citing his 20-year association with Deaver in Washington and Sacramento. The decision on whether to ask a special federal court for appointment of an outside prosecutor now will be made by Deputy Atty. Gen. D. Lowell Jensen, a Justice Department spokesman said.

‘Due Process, Fairness’

Deaver, in a statement released with his lawyer’s request for an independent counsel, said that he believes “elementary due process and fairness to me and my family require appointment of an independent counsel.�

“While I’m grateful for the President’s continuing support, the climate has become such that this is the only way to resolve the issue fairly,� Deaver said. Asked Friday about the request for appointment of an independent counsel by five Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Reagan dismissed the controversy over his longtime aide as “ridiculous.�

Leaving Honolulu Monday on his way to the Tokyo economic summit, Reagan said of Deaver’s request: “If he wants to do that, it’s up to him. I don’t think there’s any need for it because he hasn’t done anything wrong.�

Deaver’s request for an independent counsel carries no legal weight, a Justice Department spokesman acknowledged, because Jensen is likely to make the decision on the basis of a preliminary inquiry by FBI agents and the department’s public integrity section, which is expected to begin shortly.

But Deaver’s tactic of calling for an investigation himself parallels that used by Meese and former Labor Secretary Raymond J. Donovan when pressure was building for independent counsels to investigate their financial dealings. Independent counsels were subsequently appointed and cleared both men of criminal wrongdoing, though Donovan is still awaiting trial on related New York charges.

Meese, whose request in 1984 for an independent counsel was expressed in words similar to those used by Deaver, brushed aside a question at a press conference on whether he or any member of his staff had discussed the allegations against Deaver with the powerful lobbyist or anyone representing him about the matters under investigation.

“If we had, this would come under that general prohibition we have about talking about any inquiry or investigation--either to confirm or deny or to comment on it--so I wouldn’t be able to tell you anyway,� Meese said.

The likelihood of an independent counsel being sought grew significantly Friday when the federal Office of Government Ethics submitted its review of the conflict-of-interest allegations to the Justice Department for a full-scale criminal investigation.

David H. Martin, director of the ethics office, said that the material he sent to the Justice Department dealt principally with Deaver’s lobbying on behalf of Canada, particularly on the issue of acid rain, pollution supposedly caused by heavy industry in the United States.

In addition, Deaver has drawn fire from Administration officials for his lobbying on behalf of Rockwell International Corp., South Korea and Puerto Rico.

Drew Lewis, who was President Reagan’s special envoy on the Canadian acid rain issue, said in New York Monday that Deaver’s lobbying efforts for Canada on this matter was “next to nothing.�

‘Little Contact’

Lewis, who had just returned from a European trip, told reporters that “I had little or no contact with Mike Deaver� after the former Reagan aide left his White House post last May. Reports that Deaver may have sought to influence Lewis on behalf of Canada, his $105,000-a-year client, have been under investigation by the General Accounting Office, Congress’ watchdog unit, as well as the ethics office.

Lewis acknowledged that Deaver met with him and Canadian officials last Oct. 25 in New York but said the group discussed only the schedule of the release of a final acid rain report that Lewis eventually would co-author with a Canadian representative.

Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), who requested the GAO investigation of Deaver’s activities, reacted with skepticism to Deaver’s request for an independent counsel, calling it “an obviously calculated move.�

Dingell chairs the House Energy and Commerce oversight and investigations subcommittee, which is conducting a probe of its own into Deaver’s lobbying activities and plans to open hearings on the matter next month.