Tapes strengthen case for special prosecutor
NO sooner had Attorney General Janet Reno announced that she had rejected calls for an independent counsel to investigate allegations of Democratic campaign fund-raising violations than the Clinton administration released videotapes of President Clinton and Vice President Gore at fund-raising events at the White House. The Senate committee investigating fund-raising had asked the White House in July for all related materials but didn't get these tapes. Reno should reconsider her decision in the light of the belated disclosures.
A Clinton spokesman claimed that the administration did not know that the tapes existed until recently. He called the situation an honest mistake. Maybe. But the timing of the disclosure makes it particularly suspicious.
The disappearance of evidence is nothing new in Congress' efforts to hold the Clintons accountable. There was, for example, the mysterious reappearance of Whitewater-related documents in the office of Mrs. Clinton after they had been declared lost.
The Senate committee recently unearthed another abuse: The chairman of the Democratic National Committee pressured a National Security Council official to back off from her recommendation against letting Roger Tamraz, a financier with a shady reputation who had given the Democrats hundreds of thousands of dollars, attend a White House event, where he lobbied for support for his proposed Caspian Sea oil pipeline. One of the tapes that was released shows Clinton shaking hands with Tamraz.
There are 44 coffee hours on the tapes, which were released Sunday by the White House. They show Clinton thanking his visitors, but reportedly without asking for money. In footage from one reception, then-Democratic National Chairman Don Fowler refuses five checks offered by a guest, apologizes and says the checks could be handled later. The administration says there are more tapes of similar events at the White House and a search is under way to locate them.
An 1893 law bars the solicitation of political donations in federal offices. Whether or not requests for money were made at the coffees, the purpose of these events was clearly to raise campaign funds. The presidentially appointed attorney general should stand aside and let a special prosecutor determine whether the law was broken.
Reno has extended a preliminary inquiry into allegations against Gore, including his attendance at a fund-raising event at a California Buddhist temple, which could lead to the appointment of an independent counsel. But the case against Clinton also requires independent handling. |
