Beleaguered FBI Chief Says He’s Determined to Stay On : Ethics: Sessions plans to make a detailed response today to the Justice Department findings on misconduct.

WASHINGTON —  FBI Director William S. Sessions, battling to save his job, declared Friday that findings by the Justice Department that he engaged in legal and ethical misconduct are “misleading and erroneous” and have strengthened his resolve to stay in office.

The former federal judge whose fate is under review by the Clinton Administration said he will take his case to the White House and Congress and will issue a detailed response today to a scathing department report which concluded that he evaded federal taxes on fringe benefits and misused his FBI travel privileges.

“I ask nothing more than that my conduct and actions, which have always been principled and ethical, be judged fairly and openly,” Sessions, 62, said in a statement.

“The unfortunate events of the past week have strengthened my resolve and ultimately will improve my ability to continue to lead the bureau.”

Meanwhile, there were signs of growing discontent and anger within the FBI, as some officials suggested the director should resign, especially since the report adopted by outgoing Atty. Gen. William P. Barr was based on evidence gathered by the bureau’s own agents.

Although most officials spoke only on the condition of anonymity, Oliver (Buck) Revell, the FBI’s longest-tenured senior official, openly expressed his view of the situation.

Revell, once a top assistant to Sessions and now head of the Dallas FBI field office, said that “if he (Sessions) cannot show our new President that he has conducted himself in an ethical and honorable fashion, then he should resign for the good of the bureau and our country.”

Revell, a 28-year FBI veteran who was Sessions’ associate deputy director before electing to finish his career in Dallas, said that “no federal official, much less the director of the FBI, should abuse ethical standards in the conduct of his official duties or in his personal affairs.”

But he noted that Sessions, a former federal judge and U.S. attorney, “has served our nation honorably and well in a number of high-level positions over the past 20 years and he is entitled to defend himself.”

Revell’s statement came as others in the FBI said that the need for Sessions to resign had taken on new urgency in light of the departure of Atty. Gen.-designate Zoe Baird, whose nomination was derailed because she violated federal immigration laws by employing undocumented aliens in her home.

Sources said Sessions’ defiance of the critical report on him prepared by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility had, in effect, undermined the work of FBI agents who conducted the six-month investigation.

“These are not allegations, they are findings,” one official said. He added that their acceptance by Barr earlier this month gave them the standing of a “final agency action” not subject to any appeal.

At the White House, George Stephanopoulos, President Clinton’s communications director, said for the second day that the Administration found the report “disturbing.” Stephanopoulos said Sessions will have an opportunity to respond formally to the report, now under review by White House lawyers, before Clinton takes any action.

Only the President can fire the FBI director, who is midway through a 10-year term established by Congress.

The report said Sessions had avoided paying taxes on the value of his use for private purposes of a chauffeured limousine and that he made extensive trips on FBI aircraft for non-official purposes, often accompanied by his wife.

The report also said he had misused government funds to build a “privacy fence” around his home and that he refused to answer questions from federal investigators about an apparent “sweetheart deal” on a $375,000 home mortgage he received from Riggs National Bank in Washington.

Sessions’ supporters, including Rep. Don Edwards (D-San Jose), have accused Barr and other Republican officials in the Justice Department of using the inquiry to seek Sessions’ ouster.