WHITE HOUSE STANDS BY GATES NOMINATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-01448R000301270006-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: February 28, 1987
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/10 : CIA-RDP99-01448R000301270006-0
28 February 1987
FILE ONLY
WHITE HOUSE STANDS BY GATES NOMINATION
BY TIM AHERN
WASHINGTON
The White House said Saturday that President Reagan stands by his nomination
of Robert M. Gates to head the CIA, even though Senate Republican leaders
suggest the nomination may be in trouble.
Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole of Kansas was canvassing other senators
over the weekend, trying to determine if there was enough support for Gates or
whether the nomination should be pulled back from the Democratic-controlled
Senate.
Dole said Friday he plans to talk next week with Howard Baker, the newly
appointed White House chief of staff and former Senate majority leader, about
the Gates nomination.
"If there's not enough support for Gates, it's likely they'll withdraw and
put in somebody who can win," said one congressional source, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Gates, currently the CIA's deputy director, was nominated to replace
William Casey, who resigned following surgery for brain cancer.
At the White House on S4turday, presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said,
"the president stands behind the nomination."During two days of public hearings
by the Intelligence Committee, Gates was questioned sharply about his role in
the Iran-Contra affair, particularly his knowledge about the sale of U.S.
weapons to Iran.
No vote on Gates has been set by the panel which would have to approve him
before the full Senate votes on the issue.
The committee will meet Wednesday to discuss the Tower commission report, the
300-page review that was sharply critical of Reagan and his White House for the
entire Iran-Contra affair.
The Gates nomination, and the timing of a likely vote, will probably be
discussed Wednesday, although no formal agenda has been set.
One Republican member of the panel, Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, has
already said he would vote against Gates.
Specter is the only senator thus far to publicly announce that he would vote
against Gates. However, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Friday that "20 or 30"
of his colleagues were troubled by questions about Gates but he would not reveal
their names.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/10: CIA-RDP99-01448R000301270006-0