Arkansas citizens had been screaming for prosecution of the drug 
smugglers and money launderers of Mena.  The Reagan/Bush
Justice Department had totally fallen down on the job to prosecute the
War on Drugs.   So Arkansans turned to their Governor, William 
Jefferson Clinton, to bring justice to these outlaws.  (How naive!
Those outlaws were protected by the U.S. government!)

Gov. Clinton said he authorized the state police to investigate.
He claimed he offered money to the local prosecutor to begin
grand jury proceedings.  "But nothing ever came of that," said
the Governor, truthfully.  Clinton blamed Federal prosecutors.
He  noted how the U.S. Attorney never asked the right
questions regarding Mena before the Federal grand jury.

What Clinton failed to mention was that the local prosecutor
never received the money the Governor promised for a grand
jury.

Larry
_______________________

"Clinton: State did all it could in Mena case"
By  Scott Morris
THE ARKANSAS GAZETTE 
September 11, 1991

        Gov. Bill Clinton said Tuesday that the state did all it could to
investigate allegations that the Mena Airport was used to run drugs
and guns.
      However, he said he was pleased the issue had been raised again.
Attorney General Winston Bryant and U.S. Rep. Bill Alexander say
they will present the Iran-Contra special investigator at Washington
with "credible evidence" next week that the CIA used the airport to
export guns to the Nicaraguan rebels and bring back drugs in the
1980s.
        "I've always felt we never got the whole story there, and
obviously if the story was that the {federal Drug Enforcement Agency}
was using Barry Seal as a drug informant ... then they ought to come
out and say that because he's dead," Clinton said.
        Seal, a convicted cocaine smuggler, worked out of the airport as
a government informant before being slain in 1986 in Baton Rouge,
ostensibly by Colombian gunmen.
       At the urging of a group of University of Arkansas students,
Bryant and Alexander have interviewed a former CIA pilot, a former
IRS agent, a state policeman who investigated the Mena Airport
activities and others, Bryant said Monday.
        Bryant said he and Alexander will meet with Craig Gillen, chief
investigator on the staff of Lawrence Walsh, the Iran-Contra special
investigator, at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 17.
       Clinton, speaking to reporters at the state Capitol, said the
Arkansas State Police conducted a "very vigorous" investigation
several years ago after allegations began to swirl about Mena. The
investigation raised questions "that involved linkages to the federal
government," the government said.
        He said he authorized the state police to tell local officials
the state would help pay for a grand jury, which he expected would be
costly because of the need to bring witnesses in from outside the
state.
       "Nothing ever came of that," Clinton said, adding he didn't know
whether federal officials pressured the local prosecutor in any way.
       When local officials failed to act, Clinton said, the state
police file was given to the U.S. attorney, who eventually called a
grand jury. The state police investigator was called to testify
"rather late in the proceedings" and felt he was asked "a rather
limited range of questions," the governor said.
         Seal received "inadequate security," Clinton said, adding that
he "raised all kinds of questions about whether he had any links to
the CIA and if he was involved with the Contras ... and if that
backed into the Iran-Contra deal."
       In the deal, the U.S. allegedly sold weapons to the Iranians and
used the proceeds to finance the Contras.
        When the federal grand jury failed to act, Clinton said, the
state sent its investigative file to a subcommittee of the House
Judiciary Committee.