Meese Has Trouble Replacing Aides : One Nominee Withdraws Name, Other May Not Accept Job

WASHINGTON —  Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III’s plans to quickly name replacements for the two senior Justice Department officials who resigned over his legal difficulties have run into serious problems, department officials said Monday.

Deputy Associate Atty. Gen. James I. K. Knapp, selected to succeed former Assistant Atty. Gen. William F. Weld as head of the criminal division, has withdrawn his name from consideration for personal reasons, department sources said. He was not available for comment.

Leaning Against Offer

Former federal appellate Judge Arlin Adams, who had been approached for the No. 2 job at the department to succeed Deputy Atty. Gen. Arnold I. Burns, said in an interview that he is leaning against Meese’s offer because he does not want to leave his law practice in Philadelphia.

There was no indication that the situation involving either potential nominee was related to the controversy over Meese’s legal problems. Burns, Weld and four of their aides resigned last Tuesday to distance themselves from allegations of wrongdoing and impropriety in an 11-month investigation of Meese by independent counsel James C. McKay.

However, the delays in replacing Burns and Weld interfere with Meese’s attempts to portray the department as operating effectively, with “business as usual.” Meese had hoped to make the appointments as a sign of stability in the department before leaving Wednesday for a five-country Latin American tour to bolster the effort against drug trafficking.

State of Anxiety

The postponement in filling the top posts has left the Justice Department, already in a state of anxiety over the Meese controversy, even more perplexed as it continues to operate with serious voids at its highest levels. Many in Congress and elsewhere have questioned the current department’s ability to enforce the law, particularly with Meese at the helm.

McKay on Friday ruled out an indictment of Meese on the basis of evidence developed so far but noted that the grand jury investigating the attorney general would continue its work for the rest of the month. He is looking into Meese’s role in a controversial Iraqi pipeline project, his involvement with the scandal-torn Wedtech Corp. and several other matters.

Adams acknowledged that he was concerned about replacing an official who had resigned in protest. More important to him, however, is the welfare of the Justice Department as a whole.

“This is an important thing to do at a very difficult time for the Department of Justice,” he said. “I can’t just say no without giving it every conceivable thought.”

But he added: “I’m not optimistic.”

Adams said that his chief concern was leaving the Philadelphia law firm he joined 15 months ago when he retired as a member of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. “My main concern is can the law firm free me up. It looks very doubtful.”

‘Act of Public Service’

Should he decide to accept the No. 2 post, Adams said, it would be “purely as an act of public service,” adding that he had already spent 50% of his life in such activities. He said he expected to make his final decision today.

As of now, only Francis A. Keating II, assistant secretary of the Treasury for enforcement, seems a certain nominee. Keating would succeed Associate Atty. Gen. Stephen S. Trott, the No. 3 department official, who is leaving in two weeks to become a judge on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Keating will be one of the officials accompanying Meese on his trip to the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.