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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (4155)	9/8/1998 6:18:00 PM
From: Who, me?	Respond to of 13994

Probe of Clinton campaign extended Move could lead to appointment of independent counsel MSNBC STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 - Attorney General Janet Reno on Tuesday opened a 90-day investigation into President Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign. After 90 days, Reno will decide whether to appoint an independent counsel. The inquiry will focus on allegations that Clinton and his top political aides circumvented campaign spending limits by directing Democratic National Committee advertising to benefit the Clinton-Gore campaign, sources told NBC News and other news organizations. `There was no violation of campaign spending limits.' - JIM KENNEDY White House spokesman THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT review was prompted by new information suggesting that Clinton and his top advisers used so-called "issue ads" paid for by the Democratic National Committee to aid Clinton's re-election effort, thus circumventing the spending limits on individual federal campaigns. The review came after the Federal Election Commission staff reversed its earlier interpretation of the law, in which it concluded that it would be legal for the president to have "coordinated" the spending of Democratic party money know as "soft money," even if it benefited his own campaign. The Wall Street Journal reported that commission auditors strongly suggest in a memo that was subpoenaed by the Justice Department that because the president and his advisers were so involved in creating campaign-like TV ads financed by the Democratic National Committee that they should be considered campaign expenditures. Sources told NBC News that an independent counsel would almost certainly examine fund-raising practices by the Republican National Committee as well. The appointment of an independent counsel would be a major distraction to Clinton, who now faces a report by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr on his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. `LEGAL AND APPROPRIATE' Last week, the White House spokesman James Kennedy defended the use of the issue ads as "entirely legal and appropriate." "There was no violation of campaign spending limits," he said. "We are confident that, at the end of its review, the Justice Department will arrive at a fair conclusion based on the facts and the law." Clinton attorney David Kendall met with top Justice Department officials on Wednesday to attempt to persuade them that no further investigation is warranted. The Washington Post quoted sources familiar with the meeting as saying that Kendall argued that if the inquiry does proceed, it should be directed at the campaign organization and not at Clinton. GORE, ICKES UNDER SCRUTINY Reno's latest move followed her recent decisions to open inquiries into whether Vice President Al Gore lied last year about telephone fund-raising calls he made from his office and whether former top White House aide Harold Ickes committed perjury before a Senate Committee examining fund-raising abuses. The questions being raised about the issue ads have been debated within the Justice Department and by legal experts since the closing days of the 1996 campaign. Reno already has ordered at least three separate examinations of allegations related to the DNC ads and the funds used to pay for them. Each time, she has concluded that the evidence does not warrant appointment of an independent counsel. NBC's Pete Williams, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.