MORRIS DENIES PROSTITUTE'S REMARKS ABOUT FBI FILES.

Byline: Neil A. Lewis The New York Times

Richard Morris, who resigned as President Clinton's campaign strategist after a supermarket tabloid reported that he had a relationship with a Washington prostitute, Monday disputed her account that he had told her Hillary Rodham Clinton was behind the White House's improper acquisition of as many as 900 confidential FBI files.

In a sworn statement delivered to a congressional committee, Morris acknowledged that he had discussed the FBI files with the prostitute, Sherry Rowlands. But Morris said that Rowlands had incorrectly characterized the discussion in excerpts from her diary published Monday by the tabloid, Star.

Rowlands wrote that when she asked who was behind the collection of the files, Morris replied: ``It was Hillary in 1993. She ordered them.''

But on Monday, Morris said that they were discussing who the public thought was responsible. He said he was only telling her that his polling data showed a majority of people believed the first lady had ordered the acquisition of the files.

Morris made his statement Monday in response to a demand from the Republican chairman of the House committee investigating how the files came to be collected in the White House. The chairman, Rep. William Clinger Jr., R-Pa., called on Morris on Friday to respond to Rowlands' account or face a subpoena to appear before the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight.

Clinger said Monday night that Morris' statement did not clear up the lingering confusion over why the White House sought and obtained the files from the FBI, including those of dozens of prominent Republicans.

``Mr. Morris does acknowledge discussing the FBI file matter with Ms. Rowlands but for the first time publicly contradicts her version of events,'' Clinger said.

It is also the first time Morris has publicly acknowledged knowing Rowlands.

Clinger said that he was still contemplating whether to require Morris to appear before his committee. He noted Morris' explanation that he was only discussing polling data and said, ``Incredibly, as Mr. Morris points out, the White House began polling on the issue instead of providing answers to the legitimate questions surrounding this matter.''

Morris' statement said that he spoke with Rowlands just after he had analyzed a poll conducted June 18 and 19, which showed that 74 percent of the public believed the first lady was behind the acquisition of the files.

``The account printed in the Star of my conversation with Ms. Rowlands on June 24, 1996, is, to the best of my recollection, inaccurate,'' Morris said in the statement, adding that he has no knowledge who was responsible for obtaining the files.

The White House has insisted the collection of the files was an innocent if sizable mistake caused by two midlevel employees who were working from an outdated list of who had access to the White House.