Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Disclosure of Quayle File Probed by U.S.

The Justice Department is investigating the disclosure of a confidential investigative file--involving allegations of cocaine use by Vice President Dan Quayle--to a newspaper controlled by members of Quayle’s family, a department official said. The Indianapolis Star last week published an article containing new details from a 1983 Drug Enforcement Administration investigation that cleared Quayle of allegations that he had purchased cocaine and Quaaludes from a drug dealer. The paper said it was shown the file by John J. Thar, assistant U.S. attorney in Indianapolis. But after the paper’s report appeared, Thar refused to take phone calls from other news organizations seeking to inspect the file. The disclosure comes amid a controversy over the Doonesbury comic strip series suggesting the DEA covered up the existence of such a file.