Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 6

i A-6 PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1997 IN WASHINGTON Senate's campaign finance probe takes some odd twists By Lance Gay Scripps Howard News Service WASHINGTON The first round of a Senate investigation into campaign finance wrongdoing end ed yesterday with a whimper and a scam as Democrats showed that an overture by a Florida businessman to give $5 million to President Clinton's re-election drive was a fraud. uled to allow Democrats to present their evidence of Republican campaign abuses next week, but Sen. Fred Thompson, said the committee needs to discuss the campaign reform bill first. The Senate's $4.5 million investigation of campaign finance problems expires Dec. 31, but a parallel probe by House Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep.

Dan Burton, is expected to pick up where the Senate left off. Meddoff, said his involvement in a fund-raising scandal began Oct. 22, 1996, when he purchased a $1,500 ticket to a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser with Clinton at a Coral Gables, Fla. hotel. On the reception line, Meddoff was able to slip Clinton his business card on which was written "I have an associate that is interested in donating $5 million to your campaign." Meddoff identified the associate aSpIr I rnnT' fjjl In the process, consultant R.

Warren Meddoff, who said he came to Washington to expose how politicians are "protected by abuses of campaign financing" found the spotlight turned on his involvement in a scheme to make money on $3 trillion worth of pre-war German gold bonds that are as worthless as Confederate currency. "You know what this reminds me of? It's the movie 'The But it's better than that it involves the president," said Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio. The chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee announced abruptly yesterday that it is suspending its investigation of fund-raising irregularities in last year's federal elections, to take the next three weeks weighing campaign reform legislation that Senate leaders agreed to bring to the floor in October. The committee had been sched Gore hires GORE FROM PAGE A-l have to decide whether to recommend the appointment of an independent counsel, a step that could pose legal and political obstacles to Gore's chances of winning the presidency in 2000.

Reno took that same step yesterday with former Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary, saying 30 days wasn't enough time to look at whether O'Leary gave favorable treatment to Chinese-American businessman Johnny Chung in exchange for a $25,000 contribution to her favorite charity. The two lawyers will supplant Gore's taxpayer-funded counsel, Charles Burson of Memphis, Ten private attorneys in fund probe PW" Royal jlffiMiiiiiiii "mini ii in in iiiiiiiiiim ii iiii Mrmfimiir -rJ Survey shows half think COP outside CocoaTitusville Area 1,2, and 3 bedroom Condos Overlooks a championship 18-hole Golf Course Pool, close to beaches, shopping 45 minutes to OrlandoDisney World and minutes from Kennedy Space Center Completely renovated, new appliances Fee simple; not a lease or time-share Below appraised value Call NOW for a FREE color brochure By Jack Torry Washington Bureau WASHINGTON A new survey suggests that Republicans are losing support among a sizable num- mam: SAVE $80 WCOUPON Ask about Sinks, Tile and Color Coupon Expires 92697 nessee's former attorney general, who can only represent Gore in his official capacity, not in a personal defense. Ginny Terzano, Gore's press secretary, said private counsel is necessary to represent Gore's position on the phone calls to the Justice Department. "We still believe it is- perfectly legal and appropriate for an incumbent president or vice president to call their supporters seeking financial contributions," said Terzano. There are no plans for Gore to launch a legal defense fund to pay his attorney fees, an official close to Gore said.

President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton have run up hundreds of thousands ber of voters because many Americans believe that the GOP is "outside the mainstream" on such social issues as abortion, affirmative action and gay rights. The survey is a sharp warning that Republicans could lose congressional seats in next year's election because of voter distrust over party stances on those issues as well as education and the environment. "The Republicans have put themselves in what I call 'the fire zone' on social issues, and, quite frankly, the middle of the electorate says they're outside the mainstream," pollster Pete Hart told reporters yesterday at a breakfast meeting. The Wall Street Journal-NBC News survey of more than 2,000 Americans jointly conducted by Hart, a Democrat, and Robert Teeter, a Republican shows that 49 percent of Americans believe that the Republican Party is "outside the mainstream" on the social issues. Only 34 percent think the GOP is inside the political mainstream.

By contrast, the survey shows that 55 percent of all Americans view the Democratic Party as in the mainstream on social issues, and just 30 percent see Democrats as outside the mainstream. Even more ominous for Republicans, the survey found that 47 percent of all GOP voters believe that their own party is outside the mainstream on social issues, while fT IS as Bill Morgan, a millionaire who lives in Richardson, Texas. Meddoff said he's never met Morgan, but has worked with him by phone for the last seven years trying to get the German government to make the pre-war bonds good, and talks to him often four or five times a day. Meddoff said he stands to earn a 25 percent cut of whatever the Germans pay for their bonds. But Democrats showed the mysterious Morgan actually lives in a $110,000 rented one-story house in Richardson, and has IRS tax liens for past-due taxes against him since 1993.

In a 1987 deposition given to a Texas court, where he was being sued for defaulting on a loan, Morgan said he couldn't afford an attorney and had no money. Meddoff said Ickes called him two davs later from Air Force One and he said the investor lie was representing wanted "tax-favorable of dollars in legal bills, far more than their legal defense fund has raised. Gore has not worked out the financial arrangements with the attorneys, the official said. The White House maintains that the federal law which bans solicitation of contributions on federal property only applies to solicitations of federal employees on the job, not phone calls. Terzano said Frampton is someone Gore "knows and respects as a lawyer on the environment" and is based in Washington, while Neal, of Nashville, is a "long-time family friend." Neal's presence returns another Watergate figure to the current 42 percent of them see their party as in the political center socially.

"I think 1998 is going to be a lot about who is in the mainstream and who is outside the mainstream," Hart said. The survey is not all bleak news for Republicans. For instance, it demonstrates that Vice President Al Gore has been damaged by reports that he may have improperly solicited hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from wealthy donors. The survey determined that 38 percent of all Americans have a positive feeling about Gore, while 33 percent have a negative feeling. Just last July, the Hart-Teeter poll showed that 49 percent of all Americans felt positive about Gore, while 25 percent were negative.

But Gore's decline is overshadowed by the danger that Republicans face by being perceived as too harsh on social issues. A modest switch in votes could allow the Democrats to wrest U.S. House control from the Republicans. The GOP now holds a slim edge, 227-206, with one seat vacant and one seat held by Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent.

In addition, Republican social conservatives such as former Vice President Dan Quayle, television commentator Patrick Buchanan and Sen. John Ashcrolt of Missouri are expected to run for their party's presidential nomination in 2000. Pennsylvania Republican Sen. urniturc clicountid 9-6 FRIDAY ft SATURDAY SUNDAY 12-3 consideration" for his donations. Meddoff said Ickes responded "there are methods of making-tax favorable contributions" and asked him for $1.5 million right away.

Ickes faxed him a list of charities involved in minority registration and get out the vote campaigns, along with their bank accounts, where he could send the money. Meddoff said Ickes later called to ask him to destroy evidence of the request. by shredding it. Ickes acknowledges discussing the donation with Meddoff, but says he never asked him to shred the documents. Democrats sought to undermine Meddoff noting he made the same $5 million overture to Sen.

Bob Dole's Republican presidential campaign in a letter asking Dole to help him negotiate with foreign governments to restore the value of the German bonds. Meddoff said Dole never responded. campaign finance scandals." Sen. Fred Thompson, the chairman of the current Senate probe, was minority counsel to then-Sen. Howard Baker of Tennessee on the Watergate Committee.

Neal was the primary prosecutor of among others former White House counsel John Dean. Neal first came to fame when he successfully sent Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa to prison in 1964 on jury tampering charges. But in recent years, Neal's headlines have come as a defense attorney. He successfully defended Ford Motor Co. against charges the Pinto was unsafe and Dr.

George Nicho-poloulos against charges that he overprescribed medication for the late Elvis Presley. mainstream Arlen Specter, whose brief run for the presidency in 1906 emphasized his support for abortion rights, said the GOP could soften its image by avoiding divisive battles over abor tion and concentrating on issues such as improving education. "To say we're out of the mainstream is not right," he said. "Buchanan is out of the mainstream, but Buchanan is not the Republican Party. "But I do think that it is true that the values of education, health care and environmental protection have not been as heavily emphasized by Republicans as they should be, and that is changing," Specter The survey suggests that education has become the No.

1 issue for all Americans. It said 28 percent of all Americans regard education as the most important issue for the federal government, up from 15 percent in 1992. By contrast, only 1 1 percent of all Americans believe that the economy is the most important issue, a steep decline from 45 percent in 1992. Disinterest in the economic issue works against Republicans, the survey shows. While voters believe by a margin of 34 percent to 25 percent that Republicans are better able to handle the economy, they are less worried about the economy now.

Instead, as voters worry more about education and the environment, the advantage shifts to the Democrats. Reno opens review into O'Leary gift The Washington Post WASHINGTON Taking a'step toward the appointment of an' independent counsel, Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a preliminary investigation yesterday into allegations that a prominent Democratic donor who worked on behalf of Chinese business interests was asked for a payoff in exchange for a meeting with then-Energy Secretary Hazel R. O'Leary. Reno's decision marked the first time that the Justice Department has opened such an investigation involving any of the major figures in the widespread allegations of fund-raising abuses by the 1996 Clinton-Gore reelection The donor, Johnny Chung, claimed in an Aug. 19 interview with NBC News that he made a $25,000 donation to O'Leary's favorite charity, Africare, at the behest of a lobbyist and an Energy Department official who were working with O'Leary and who offered to set up a meeting between O'Leary, Chung and a delegation of Chinese oil men.

O'Leary acknowledges that' the meeting occurred. Chung has brah-dished a canceled check before television cameras to show that the contribution was made. O'Leary denies that she or anyone authorized to act for her solicited money from Chung in return for the meeting. Reno opened a 30-day review of the allegations raised by Chung the day after his interview was Select Property Group FAX 407.269.1219 E-mail: royalpalmsselectpropertygroup.com Website: http:www.selectpropertygroup.com Where in the world would anyone use the word "Ytterbium?" REAL ESTATE Quality Leather Furniture Discounted 5 fttytec! 70 Color! OVER 17,000 CHOICES! 3 Week 6UARANTKSB! Only at a spelling bee. In this case, the 1998 Post-Gazette Western Pennsylvania Spelling Bee.

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