ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 31, 1996 TAG: 9610310049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A senior FBI official pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice Wednesday for destroying a report that criticized the FBI's role in a deadly 1992 shootout at the Idaho cabin of white separatist Randall Weaver.
E. Michael Kahoe, who entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors investigating whether other FBI officials were involved in a cover-up of the FBI's handling of the siege.
The highest ranking of four suspended FBI officials still under investigation is former FBI Deputy Director Larry Potts.
Prosecutors said Kahoe destroyed the documents to keep them from attorneys representing Weaver, whose wife and son were killed during a nine-day standoff in 1992.
Weaver and a friend, Kevin L. Harris, were acquitted of charges that they killed a federal marshal during a shootout that led to the FBI siege.
As head of the FBI's violent crimes and major offenders section, Kahoe was responsible for preparing a critique of the FBI's performance at Ruby Ridge. Such reports are typically compiled after every violent encounter involving federal agents.
A summary of the case notes that Kahoe first refused to turn over documents to the U.S. attorney's office in Idaho, prompting the Justice Department to intervene.
The U.S. attorney in Idaho needed all FBI records relating to Ruby Ridge to help prepare its case. It also was required to provide those documents to the defense.
Kahoe then refused to turn over the after-action critique to the Justice Department, the report stated. After that, Kahoe told a subordinate, Gale Evans, that he had destroyed his copies of the report and instructed Evans to do the same - and to dispose of a computer disk on which the report was stored.
``It was recognized at the time that the FBI had problems in the Weaver case,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric W. Sitarchuk said. ``The report was destroyed so that the defense would not learn of those problems.''
Kahoe, a 25-year FBI veteran, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine in connection with his felony plea.
U.S. Attorney Mike Stiles said Kahoe is cooperating with the government's investigation but would not elaborate.
``The guilty plea proceeding speaks for itself,'' Stiles said. ``A serious matter has been resolved with Mr. Kahoe's guilty plea this morning.''
Kahoe, who had been suspended with pay until Tuesday, when the criminal information was filed, will officially resign from the FBI by Jan. 1, Stiles said.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP E. Michael Kahoe (right), a senior FBI official,by CNBleaves U.S. District Court in Washington Wednesday. color