Ex-Senator to Tackle ‘Dark Questions’ of Cult Tragedy : Inquiry: Danforth bluntly states his intention to find out whether FBI agents ‘killed people’ at end of Branch Davidian siege.

WASHINGTON —  Former Sen. John C. Danforth, named to lead the reexamination of the Branch Davidian disaster, declared in stark terms Thursday that he intends to find out whether federal agents “killed people” outside Waco, Texas, six years ago and lied to cover it up.

The Missouri Republican gave himself a blunt and far-reaching mandate, pledging to use all available prosecutorial powers to find out what happened at David Koresh’s compound on April 19, 1993.

“I think my job is to answer . . . the dark questions,” he told reporters. “Was there a cover-up? That’s a dark question. Did the government kill people? How did the fire start? And was there shooting [by federal agents]? I mean, those are questions that have been raised. Those are questions that go to the basic integrity of government.”

In formally naming Danforth as a special counsel to investigate the Branch Davidian matter, Atty. Gen. Janet Reno said the former Missouri attorney general, now in private practice in St. Louis after leaving the Senate in 1994, would bring “impeccable credentials” and bipartisan support to the job.

Danforth said a public airing of his findings will be a priority, but it remained uncertain how long that would take. “It would be a mistake to set a fixed time limit” on his investigation, Danforth said, adding that he hopes to finish by the presidential election in November 2000.

Although Danforth’s appointment reflects a concerted effort by Reno and other government officials to reclaim some credibility on the issue, critics of the attorney general and the FBI have vowed to pursue their own lines of inquiry.

In Waco, a federal judge has set an Oct. 18 trial date for a $100-million wrongful death lawsuit against the government filed by relatives of some of the roughly 80 people who died after fire swept through the main Branch Davidian dwelling. Some of the victims had been shot.

Congressional committees already have taken steps toward their own investigations, and public hearings could get underway this fall.

Danforth’s appointment came two weeks after the FBI--reversing six years of denials--acknowledged that its agents used pyrotechnic munitions on the final morning of the Branch Davidian standoff. That acknowledgment and newly discovered evidence have reignited the political controversy over the government’s handling of the siege, badly damaging the credibility of Reno and other federal authorities.

Last week, Reno ordered U.S. marshals to seize from the FBI a previously undisclosed tape-recording showing that the leader of the FBI’s hostage rescue team authorized the use of pyrotechnic tear gas canisters that day. But the now-retired agent, Richard M. Rogers, has maintained in recent days, according to sources, that his actions were clearly within the scope of his authority and--rather than being concealed--were well known to many FBI superiors in Washington who were following the events in Texas that morning via radio communication.

Because Reno probably will be a witness in Danforth’s investigation, the attorney general said that she would recuse herself from oversight of the inquiry. She turned those duties over to Deputy Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr.

At the same time, however, Reno made clear Thursday that she will not let mounting attacks from Republican lawmakers drive her from office.

“I don’t run from controversy,” said Reno, who took office in March 1993--just weeks after the 51-day Branch Davidian standoff began. She has faced sporadic calls for her resignation ever since, most of them from Republican lawmakers who disagreed with her refusal to initiate outside investigations of Democratic campaign fund-raising abuses. She is the longest-serving attorney general this century.

Moments after his public introduction ended, Danforth rushed to Capitol Hill to pay courtesy calls to key House and Senate members from both parties, drawing enthusiastic endorsements from many former colleagues. But plans for congressional investigations continued unabated.

Despite his confidence in Danforth, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that “Congress was misled by the executive branch. The Congress should not, at this point, defer to the executive branch if it wants to ensure there is a full and complete accounting.”

At the White House, President Clinton reiterated his support for Reno--”I certainly don’t think there’s any reason for her to resign,” he said--and his support of an independent investigation.

“The only thing that I would ask is that [Danforth] conduct a thorough and honest inquiry and do it as promptly as he can so that we can get the facts, take appropriate action and go forward,” Clinton said.

Danforth will examine a range of troubling issues that have surfaced since last month regarding the final, deadly day of the Branch Davidian siege. Reno and other federal officials say overwhelming evidence shows Koresh and his followers engaged in mass suicide, setting fire to the compound. But critics, emboldened by the recent FBI admissions, allege that FBI agents started the fire and may have even shot some Davidians.

Specifically, Danforth plans to investigate whether any agents used incendiary devices that day or engaged in gunfire, whether anyone destroyed or withheld evidence, or whether armed forces personnel were used illegally. Some activists have recently alleged that the Army’s secret Delta Force unit participated in the confrontation, in violation of regulations banning its active involvement in civilian operations.

But Danforth said he will not look at events at the beginning of the standoff, such as the decision by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to raid the Branch Davidians compound in Mount Carmel in February 1993 in search of a suspected cache of illegal weapons. Tipped off to the raid, Koresh’s followers fatally shot four ATF agents.

Danforth traced the importance of his mission to the Declaration of Independence, saying: “The purpose of government is to protect the life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness of the American people. And if government doesn’t do that, if government covers things up, if government kills people, if that’s what happened--and I don’t prejudge that--then that undermines what [Thomas] Jefferson talked about as being the very foundation of government.”

Serving as Danforth’s deputy will be Edward Dowd, a colleague who is leaving his post as the U.S. attorney in St. Louis. Both Danforth and Dowd, a Clinton appointee, will be paid $118,000 a year by the Justice Department, Danforth said.

Danforth said he will hire unnamed individuals from the private sector to staff his investigation and does not plan to enlist the FBI’s help.

*

Times staff writers James Gerstenzang, Janet Hook and Richard Simon contributed to this story.