Leaders in D.C. mock Dayton

The District’s Democratic leaders yesterday ridiculed Sen. Mark Dayton’s decision to close his Capitol Hill office until after the Nov. 2 election because of terrorism fears.

“I’m just literally scratching my head,” D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams said in response to Mr. Dayton’s Tuesday announcement. “I’m trying to figure out what frequency the senator is on.”

Calling the Minnesota Democrat’s decision a “very strange aberration,” the mayor said that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton and others concur that there isn’t any new information to prompt Mr. Dayton’s statement about “an unacceptably great risk to safety” prior to Election Day.

Republicans accused Mr. Dayton of “caving in” to terrorists, while Democratic congressional leaders had no comment yesterday. Mrs. Norton accused Mr. Dayton of fear-mongering.

The senator’s decision to close his office in the Russell Senate Office Building leaves an “unmistakable impression that security at the Capitol is so inadequate that self-help by members [of Congress] is necessary and that others should stay away,” Mrs. Norton said in a statement yesterday.

“We have an obligation to avoid creating an atmosphere of fear among residents and visitors,” the District’s Democratic delegate said.

Mr. Dayton, who has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration for failing to prevent the September 11 terrorist attacks, closed his Capitol Hill office on Tuesday citing confidential security threats he could not disclose.

“I do so out of extreme, but necessary, precaution to protect the lives and safety of my Senate staff and my Minnesota constituents, who might otherwise visit my office in the next few weeks,” Mr. Dayton said in a statement that referred to a top-secret report on national security Mr. Frist presented to him and other lawmakers.

“I feel compelled to [close the office], because I will not be here in Washington to share in what I consider to be an unacceptably great risk to safety,” Mr. Dayton said.

Mr. Frist, Tennessee Republican, said there “has been no new information over the last five to six weeks” to cause alarm and said that the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms and the U.S. Capitol Police are taking all necessary precautions to make the sprawling Capitol complex safe for legislators, staffers and visitors.

“There is no new information since the first information came in August,” Frist spokeswoman Amy Call said yesterday. “At that time, we made some decisions to increase security precautions.”

The elevated security situation around the Capitol has included more officers on duty and around-the-clock roadblocks on every street leading to the Capitol complex, which includes the main Capitol building, surrounding office buildings and the Library of Congress.

Two Minnesota Republicans in Congress were critical of Mr. Dayton’s decision to close his D.C. office.

While Washington is “currently on a heightened state of alert,” Rep. Mark Kennedy said, he has not been given any information during “recent classified briefings” that warrants closing his office here.

Mr. Kennedy, a Republican who is expected to challenge Mr. Dayton in his 2006 Senate re-election bid, also said people should freely visit Washington for business or pleasure.

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