Teamsters’ Ties To Dnc Studied

A federal grand jury investigating Ron Carey’s campaign for re-election as Teamsters president has turned its attention to the union’s close relationship with the Democratic Party.

Last week, the jury subpoenaed, from Teamster headquarters, any records related to Democratic organizations and, from the Democratic National Committee, documents regarding the Teamsters, sources familiar with the requests said.

The subpoenas followed news reports detailing documents that indicated officials of the party and the Teamsters may have considered cooperating to raise money for Democrats and for Carey’s campaign.

“We are cooperating with any and all investigations,” DNC spokeswoman Amy Weiss Tobe said, “but we don’t acknowledge receiving subpoenas from Justice or any other investigative entities.”

Reached at home during the weekend, Earl V. Brown Jr., the Teamsters’ general counsel, would not discuss the subpoena or even confirm its existence.