China Inquiry Called Bungled

Poor judgment and bureaucratic infighting crippled the federal investigation into an alleged plot by the Chinese government to influence the 1996 presidential election, according to a report released by the Justice Department’s inspector general in Washington. The report found no evidence that anyone at the FBI or the Justice Department tried to protect the Clinton administration by concealing potentially damaging information. The report blamed numerous well-intentioned failures, such as drawn-out internal disputes over how intelligence information should be shared with criminal investigators.