EDITORIAL : CLINTON VS. THE FBI CLAIM THAT AGENCY TRIED TO GAG WHITE HOUSE AIDES LACKS CREDIBILITY.

THE latest fund-raising evasion being put forth by the White House - that staffers were told by the FBI not to inform superiors that China might make illegal campaign donations - simply lacks credibility.

For starters, there's the official statement by the FBI: ``The FBI placed no restriction whatsoever on the dissemination up the chain-of-command at the NSC (National Security Council) on any information provided to the NSC senior staff by the FBI during the June 3, 1996, briefing.''

Moreover, at least four members of Congress had been briefed by the FBI on the same subject.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said she was warned by the agency in 1991 and 1993 that China ``is going to attempt to get funds into campaigns in the United States.'' She added that she received similar warnings from the FBI last year.

California's two Democratic senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., also said that they were warned by the FBI last year.

So why would supposedly sophisticated people in the Federal Bureau of Investigation issue warnings to members of Congress, but try to keep the information away from the president? It makes no sense at all.

About the best that can be said for the White House's spin is that it's consistent - consistent with the pattern of evasion that has become a hallmark of this administration.

Whenever something embarrassing happens, the president either blames sloppy staff work (as was the case with the misuse of FBI background files by the White House) or a hazy memory (such as his ``I'm not sure'' answer Friday when asked whether he solicited campaign donations from the executive mansion).

All of this has the aroma of a massive cover-up. The continuing game plan is to distance the president from damaging disclosures so that he can't be held accountable. It's always someone else's fault. This time the White House would have the American people believe it's either the fault of the FBI for trying to swear NSC aides to secrecy, or the aides themselves for not passing the information along anyway.

Well, it simply won't wash. And the remedies are obvious.

There must be a congressional investigation, if only because Congress has oversight over the FBI.

Likewise, an independent counsel should be appointed to investigate possible interference in the American political process by China or other nations.

The law authorizing the appointment of independent counsels was enacted to maintain public confidence in the justice system. One of the goals was to avoid the appearance of conflicts of interest at the highest levels of government. The conflict between the FBI and the White House provides Attorney General Janet Reno with all the evidence she needs to request the appointment of an independent counsel to learn the truth.