Report by FBI Clears Tower, Bush Declares : Panel to Vote on Pentagon Nominee Thursday and Senate Could Act on Confirmation Friday

WASHINGTON —  With a long-delayed Senate committee vote on John Tower now set for this week, President Bush offered a vigorous defense of his nominee for defense secretary, declaring that the most recent allegations about Tower’s personal life and financial dealings “have been gunned down” and insisting that his support for Tower has “never wavered.”

Bush made his comments at a press conference as members of the Senate Armed Services Committee reviewed the 140-page government report that the President said cleared Tower of recent charges and prepared to vote Thursday on whether to recommend his confirmation by the full Senate.

Prompt Action Promised

Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) has said that the Senate is “prepared to act promptly” as soon as the Armed Services Committee sends the nomination to the floor, and congressional sources said that a Senate vote could be held as early as Friday.

Sources said that the FBI report, sent Monday to the White House and to Congress, cleared Tower of charges that illegal contributions had been funneled to his last senatorial campaign.

The report included detailed interviews with persons familiar with Tower’s drinking habits. The finding, officials said, was that the Texas senator may have drunk excessively in the early 1970s but has moderated his consumption since then.

“I saw this as a reaffirmation of what I’ve felt all along, and that is that John Tower is qualified to be secretary of defense--he will be a good secretary of defense,” Bush said. “I hope the Senate will move forthrightly on this nomination.”

Alcoholism Reports Denied

Bush denied suggestions that Tower may have a continuing drinking problem--the issue that Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) has said he finds most troubling.

“There is no evidence of any kind of the disease (of) alcoholism,” Bush said. “None. None, whatsoever.”

Nunn and Virginia Sen. John W. Warner, the ranking Republican member of the panel, announced that the committee would meet in closed session once more before it moves to a final vote on Thursday. The White House, in an effort to minimize further speculation about allegations against Tower, has pressed lawmakers to complete their deliberations in open session.

But Nunn said that a closed meeting is necessary in some cases to protect the identities of confidential informants.

“We’ll also have to try to figure out a way to do that on the floor of the Senate--if (the nomination) passes the committee and goes to the floor--and that’s not going to be easy,” Nunn said.

Won’t Criticize Committee

Bush on Tuesday refused to fault the Senate committee’s handling of Tower’s confirmation proceedings, which have been stalled for more than three weeks as Nunn and Warner called for further investigation of allegations reaching the panel.

“I think (Nunn has) been fair,” Bush said, responding to a reporter’s suggestion that Nunn hoped to dominate defense policy by delaying the Tower vote. “The idea that he will run defense policy, I think he’d be the first to say that’s not true.”

But Bush added that Nunn “will be a key player in it, and I hope that he’ll be able to support Sen. Tower.”

After reviewing the latest FBI report, Nunn refused Tuesday to discuss his position on the Tower nomination, saying that he would not do so until the committee is ready to vote.

Could Kill Nomination

On Thursday, the committee will vote first on whether to recommend Tower’s confirmation. If a majority votes no, the committee could then take a vote on whether or not to send the nomination to the Senate floor for a vote by the entire chamber.

Nunn’s position on Tower’s confirmation is believed to be critical both within the committee and to a Senate floor vote. Since becoming chairman of the committee in 1986, Nunn has had broad influence on defense matters within the Senate among members of both parties.

When asked Tuesday how his handling of the Tower confirmation hearings would affect his working relationship with Tower if the ex-senator is confirmed, Nunn replied cautiously.

“One step at a time,” he said.