Clinton promised to probe Mena, but did not

The following article was originally printed in the Thursday, January 30, 
1992 issue of the *The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette* on page 7B.

   UA GROUP CHARGES CLINTON DID LITTLE ON MENA INQUIRY

   By Cyd Tabyanan

   FAYETTEVILLE - The Arkansas Committee charged Wednesday that Gov. Bill 
Clinton did little to investigate the possibility that the Mena Airport 
was used as part of a gun and drug smuggling operation in the mid 1980s.
   "He did not respond to the people of Arkansas when they asked him for 
justice," said Mark Swaney, president of the Arkansas Committee, a 
University of Arkansas student group formed to support constitutional law 
and human rights.
   "We ask the people of the United States if they want to vote for a man 
to lead this country out of a massive drug problem if he won't even 
respond to his own citizens when we asked him to," Swaney said.
   The committee is questioning Clinton's statement last year that he did 
all he could to investigate allegations that the CIA used the airport to 
export guns to Nicaraguan rebels and bring drugs into the United States.
   Wednesday, the committee made public a Jan. 7 letter it received from 
Arkansas State Police Col. Tommy Goodwin that said Clinton made a "verbal 
commitment" to expend money for a grand jury investigation.
   Swaney said Clinton reportedly authorized $25,000 to aid Polk County 
authorities in an investigation of the alleged criminal activity at the 
airport.
   Letters the committee received from former Polk County Prosecuting 
Attorney Prosecuting Attorney Joe Hardegree and former deputy prosecutor 
Charles Black say the county authorities never knew money was available.
   "Quite frankly, even if I had been made aware that $25,000 was 
available, that specific amount would have been tantamount to trying to 
extinguish a forest fire by spitting on it," Black said in his response.
   Clinton told reporters last year that when local officials failed to 
act, the state police case was given to the U.S. attorney, who eventually 
called a grand jury.