Conyers wants special counsel to
investigate Westar donations to Congress members
sfgate.com
Friday, June 13, 2003
(06-13) 16:06 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
The ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary
Committee asked the attorney general Friday to
appoint a special prosecutor to investigate campaign
donations to Republicans by a utility seeking a
legislative exemption that could have saved the
company billions of dollars.
In a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Rep.
John Conyers of Michigan said only a special
counsel from outside the Justice Department, "with
no ties to the Republican Party or the Bush
administration," can ensure a fair and impartial
investigation.
Internal Westar Energy documents raised the
question whether there was an exchange of
campaign contributions for legislative favors to help
Westar, a Topeka, Kan., energy conglomerate.
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, House Energy
and Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin,
energy subcommittee chairman Joe Barton of Texas
and Senate Banking Committee chairman Richard
Shelby of Alabama have denied any link between
more than $55,000 in donations to various members
of Congress and a regulatory exemption that was
dropped when Westar came under a grand jury
investigation last year.
Conyers noted that Ashcroft's Senate campaign
received $500 from a Westar executive.
"Investigating high-ranking Republicans by an
attorney general who has himself received campaign
contributions from the entity involved constitutes a
conflict of interest," Conyers wrote. |
