The Consortium
Clinton & a BCCI Lawyer
WASHINGTON -- The Clinton Administration is giving serious
consideration to putting a former BCCI lawyer in charge of
policing drug money-laundering. One senior administration
official told The Consortium that E. Lawrence Barcella Jr. was
"at the top of the list" for the post of under-secretary of the
Treasury for law enforcement. Barcella is said to have impressed
Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin in a job interview. But the
senior official said others in the administration opposed
Barcella's appointment.
In the 1980s, Barcella and his law firm earned more than $2
million from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International for
giving legal advice, lobbying and handling public relations
problems. Barcella denounced as "absurd" early press
allegations that BCCI had secretly gained control of First
American Bank in Washington. (The story turned out to be true.)
In 1991, BCCI collapsed amid scandal over its ties to
international drug money-laundering and influence-peddling.
A former assistant U.S. attorney in Washington, Barcella had
close ties to President Reagan's foreign policy team, especially
former national security consultant Michael Ledeen. Barcella
played a minor role in the Iran-contra affair (advising the
Pentagon how to skirt the Arms Export Control Act and still ship
weapons to the Nicaraguan contra rebels). He also directed the
House October Surprise task force.
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