WASHINGTON -- A yearlong investigation into whether Clinton administration aides left the White House in fraternity-party disarray as they vacated the presidential premises has turned up about $15,000 in damage, according to a government report released Tuesday.
Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) asked the General Accounting Office last June to look into allegations that Clinton staffers had ripped phone cords from walls, left obscene voicemail messages, defaced bathrooms and vandalized computer keyboards by removing the ''W'' keys when they left the White House. A number of items, including a 12-inch presidential seal and several antique doorknobs, were assumed stolen.
''The Clinton administration treated the White House worse than college freshmen checking out of their dorm rooms,'' Barr said Tuesday. ''They disgraced not just themselves but the institution and the office of the presidency as well.''
The GAO concluded that ''damage, theft, vandalism, and pranks did occur in the White House during the 2001 presidential transition.'' The report stated that some incidents, such as removing keyboard keys, placing glue on desk drawers and leaving obscene voicemail messages ''clearly were intentional,'' and intentional damage would constitute a criminal act under federal law. No prosecutions are planned, though.