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Gainer Disputes Charge By White House Adviser
Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer, challenging remarks by a top White House homeland security official, said yesterday that "there is not a specific, credible, direct threat against Congress as an institution, or its members." Gainer was responding to statements by Frances Fragos Townsend, the White House homeland security adviser, who said in a television interview Sunday that the most recent intelligence on threats by al Qaeda included mention of the U.S. Capitol and members of Congress. Townsend said the information was not as detailed as it was for five financial institutions at the heart of the government's Aug. 1 decision to raise the terrorist threat alert for financial sectors in three cities. Several other law enforcement officials in Washington said yesterday that they were not aware of any such information. Gainer, who has taken a series of aggressive steps to heighten security on Capitol Hill -- including a street closure and the addition of 14 vehicle checkpoints -- maintained, as he did last week, that he has no information indicating a current threat to the area. [more]