Some CIA Reports Rejected

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Report: Some CIA Reports Rejected
NEW YORK (AP) -- The CIA is being more selective about reports they send to the White House because Vice President Al Gore's office rejected several alleging corruption by top Russian officials, The New York Times reported today.

One CIA report detailing alleged evidence against former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin was sent back with a barnyard epithet scrawled across its cover, intelligence officers familiar with the incident told the Times.

The message, they said, was that Gore did not want to hear anything bad about Chernomyrdin, who as prime minister of Russia in 1995 had regular discussions with Gore about U.S.-Russia relations.

As a result, the CIA has become more selective about distributing its information, agency analysts told the Times. For example, they decided not to circulate a report that a German businessman paid $1 million for a meeting with Chernomyrdin, the newspaper said.

Chernomyrdin has been publicly accused of enriching himself through his influence over Gazprom, Russia's natural gas monopoly.

Gore would not comment on the reports, the Times said. ``I never discuss top-secret documents,'' he told the newspaper.

Several administration officials dismissed the CIA reports on Chernomyrdin, saying the CIA never presented enough evidence to back up the claims, the Times said without identifying them.

There was no comment today from Chernomyrdin, who was ousted as prime minister in March and made an unsuccessful bid to return this fall. Calls to his office after business hours were not returned.

_AP-NY-11-23-98 1122EST

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