RENO TO PROLONG INQUIRY.

Byline: Angie Cannon and Jodi Enda Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Attorney General Janet Reno decided Tuesday to extend the Justice Department investigation into fund-raising calls by President Clinton, putting her one step closer to requesting the appointment of an independent counsel.

The decision was a blow to the White House, which had hoped that Reno would determine there was not enough evidence of possible wrongdoing to justify a continuation of the department's inquiry.

A Justice Department official said Reno's decision to extend the probe until Dec. 2 did not mean that investigators had found evidence that the president may have violated the law.

Instead, the official said, investigators needed more time to examine an array of ``complicated legal issues and facts.''

``There are a lot of issues: Whether any calls happened, where they came from, what was being solicited,'' said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

During a news conference in Brasilia, Brazil, Clinton denied any wrongdoing and pledged his cooperation with the inquiry.

``I know I didn't do anything wrong,'' he told reporters. ``I did everything I could to comply with the law. I feel good about it.''

Republicans in Congress said Reno's decision was a step in the right direction.

``But, so far, she has stopped short of taking action which is decisive and necessary, and that is requesting the court to appoint the independent counsel,'' said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

During the next phase of the probe, if FBI agents and prosecutors determine more investigation is needed, the law requires Reno to ask a special federal appellate court panel for an independent counsel.

Such an appointment would be highly significant because it would remove the investigation from the control of the Justice Department. The independent counsel almost certainly would have power to investigate a wide array of allegations not just whether Clinton's phone calls were legal. At issue in the current inquiry is whether federal law prohibited Clinton from making fund-raising calls from the White House. The law says, ``It shall be unlawful for any person to solicit or receive any contribution'' in any federal government room. Violators face a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

The law was originally written 114 years ago to protect federal employees from being coerced to contribute in their offices by their bosses. There has been no suggestion that Clinton solicited money from federal employees.

Reno's decision follows a similar move almost two weeks ago on fund-raising calls that Vice President Al Gore made from his office. While Gore has readily acknowledged making fund-raising calls from the White House for the 1996 election, Clinton has said he does not remember whether he did so.

In Senate testimony last week, former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Harold Ickes said he had asked Clinton to make such calls ``on occasion'' and that ``to my knowledge, the president made few of those calls I asked him to make.''

Ickes said the White House Counsel's Office had assured him Clinton could make such calls legally from the executive mansion, ``preferably from the residence.''

Justice Department officials emphasized that Reno's extension of both investigations doesn't necessarily mean she will seek an independent counsel.

Both the Clinton and Gore preliminary investigations, as well as one into former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary, can last until Dec. 2 - 90 days after they were raised by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee.

Reno had until today to decide whether she would expand the investigation into Clinton's telephone calls, following the disclosure last month that the Justice Department was opening a 30-day inquiry. Reno also will appear today before the House Judiciary Committee, where Republican lawmakers are sure to press her for an independent counsel.

Also Tuesday, White House officials said they were turning over all of the remaining videotapes of White House coffees to the Justice Department and to the congressional committees investigating the fund-raising activities.

Most of the tapes, covering about 150 events, were delivered Tuesday night, with the rest expected to be turned over today.

Justice Department officials also said discussions are continuing between the department and the White House about investigators interviewing the president about the campaign fund raising.

One department official said questioning the president could be handled several different ways. Prosecutors could put him under oath. It could be done orally. Or it could be done with written questions and answers. The Justice Department official said the questioning most likely would not be done by Reno and that prosecutors definitely would go to the White House for such a session.

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Photo: (color) Janet Reno

Extends investigation