Ooops! Maybe Gore made not such a great pick after all.....
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX TUESDAY AUG 08, 2000 10:15:31 ET XXXXX
LIEBERMAN SUGGESTED PROBE OF GORE FUND-RAISING!
**Exclusive**
Presidential hopeful Al Gore's pick for running mate once suggested that an independent counsel should be appointed to investigate Gore's fund-raising practices, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal!
"I think the attorney general should heed the advice of Mr. LaBella and appoint an independent counsel to look into all of this," Sen. Joseph Lieberman confided to a senior Hill staffer late in the Summer of 1998.
Lieberman, the ranking member for the minority of the Committee of Government Affairs, made the comment behind-closed-doors to a senior member of Chairman Fred Thompson's staff.
"Sen. Lieberman told me privately that he thought [Justice Department investigator Charles] LaBella's initial findings on Al Gore's role in '96 fund-raising were significant and deeply disturbing," the congressional source said from Washington. "He was very concerned that there may have been crimes committed."
Lieberman's office refused comment Tuesday morning.
Publicly, Lieberman stayed on the fence about appointing a special prosecutor to probe the '96 campaign, and his future running mate.
"A lot of awful behavior occurred, a lot of it scandalous, a lot of it illegal," he told reporters at the time.
Lieberman said he felt there was insufficient evidence to call for an independent counsel, but LaBella's report had made him reconsider.
High Noon on Tuesday, Gore was set to launch a historic Democratic ticket with Lieberman and his "real sense of awe," hoping to surge into his nominating convention with a burst of energy and the moral high ground.
"Mr. Lieberman is a fine, fine man," said a Republican colleague at Government Affairs. "I just hope Mr. Gore doesn't ask him to co-endorse any money orders from foreign sources made payable to Gore/Lieberman 2000 or the Democratic National Committee!"
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