By Philip Shenon
July 12, 1999
Washington - A senator who is blocking a final Senate vote on Richard Holbrooke's nomination to be chief American diplomat at the United Nations asserted Sunday that Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was directly responsible for the delay because of her treatment of a State Department employee described as a whistle-blower.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said that Albright "bears responsibility for the retaliatory treatment of this whistle-blower" and that the secretary "is the cause of the delay with regard to my hold on the nomination."
His statement, which was made public Sunday, appeared to be an effort to step up the pressure on the State Department to reach a settlement with the employee, Linda Shenwick, by labeling Albright as personally responsible for the latest delay in Holbrooke's confirmation.
In a statement, the State Department did not directly address the question of Ms. Albright's involvement in Ms. Shenwick's case but criticized senators who are holding up Holbrooke's nominations "for reasons that have nothing to do with his qualifications."
Ms. Shenwick has charged that she was removed from her post at the American mission to the United Nations because she provided damaging information about the U.N. to members of Congress and to reporters.
The Department has refused to respond to details of Ms. Shenwick's accusations, noting that the case is now the subject of an investigation by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that is supposed to protect whistle-blowers.
Grassley is one of at least four Republican senators who have exercised their right under arcane Senate rules to place a "hold" on Holbrooke's long-stalled nomination.
Congressional officials say that at least two other Republican senators, Trent Lott of Mississippi, the majority leader, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, are blocking a final vote on the nomination as a bargaining chip to persuade the White House to appoint a conservative Ohio law professor to the Federal Election Commission.
The Senate minority leader, Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Sunday that Holbrooke "is being held hostage, and in the worst fashion.
"In fact, it's almost an embarrassing fashion right now," he said on the NBC News program "Meet the Press." "That's got to end. We've got to fill that position. Let's send an ambassador to the United Nations. Let's do our job."
In a separate appearance on the program, Lott said, "I suspect that the nomination of Holbrooke to go to the U.N. will be confirmed." But he also acknowledged Grassley's hold on the process and said that he also expected his favored appointee to the election commission, Bradley Smith, to be confirmed.
Grassley's "hold" relates not to Holbrooke's qualifications but instead to the State Department's treatment of Ms. Shenwick.
"My position on the Holbrooke nomination remains firm," Grassley said. "The price for lifting the hold is for the department to negotiate in good faith with Linda Shenwick. The State Department has a very weak case in refusing to do so."
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, announced last week that he, too, had placed a "hold" on Holbrooke's nomination because he wanted to review the veteran diplomat's leading role in the Clinton administration's Balkans policy.
