Carter-Mondale power link mistaken, ex-official writes

Former Attorney General Griffin Bell, in memoirs to be published in July, says Jimmy Carter made ''crucial'' mistakes as President, including giving Vice-President Walter Mondale an office in the West Wing of the White House, the New York Times reported.

In ''Taking Care of the Law,'' Mr. Bell contends Mr. Mondale established his own ''power center,'' from which he sought to steer administration policy, the Times said. Mondale's ''fundamental differences'' in policy with the President compounded Mr. Carter's problems in projecting an image of coherent leadership, the memoirs say.