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Politics : Wesley Clark -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (562)	10/9/2003 7:55:03 AM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1414

Ex-Gen. Clark Gives Up Paid Speeches, Returns Fees washingtonpost.com Reuters Thursday, October 9, 2003; 12:17 AM WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retired Gen. Wesley Clark will give no more paid speeches, the Democratic presidential candidate's spokesman said on Wednesday after the Washington Post reported he may have broken the law by touting his 2004 run for the White House. The Federal Election Commission prohibits candidates from accepting speaking fees from corporations, labor unions, individuals or universities for campaign-related events. Since Clark announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 17, he has made several paid speaking appearances on college campuses, but FEC officials said it was unclear whether he had done anything wrong. "Based on our review of the FEC guidelines, we believe that the paid speeches Gen. Clark delivered since he announced his candidacy were appropriate," campaign spokesman Mark Fabiani said. "From here on, Gen. Clark will give no more paid speeches." Fabiani said Clark would return the payments for speeches he had given since he entered the presidential race "to avoid any distraction from the real issues that matter to Americans." The Post reported his fee was as much as $30,000. Since Clark, a four-star Army general and NATO commander, retired three years ago, he has delivered speeches on foreign policy and leadership to organizations around the world. Fabiani said Clark had fulfilled preexisting speaking obligations, but accepted no additional commitments since Sept. 17. Clark jumped into the top tier of candidates in national polls after entering the race, but still lags in key states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. He raised about $3.5 million in his first three weeks, better than some of his more established opponents. But Clark's early performance has been plagued by missteps, including a reversal over whether he would have supported a congressional resolution authorizing war in Iraq. Rivals have questioned his Democratic credentials in view of his past votes for Republican Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Clark's campaign manager, Donnie Fowler, quit on Tuesday after being asked to take a reduced role in his fledgling operation.