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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Clinton Defends Gore Fund Raising

Compiled From Wire Services

President Clinton defended Vice President Al Gore’s all-out fund raising Tuesday, saying “we had to do everything we could” to be competitive in last year’s presidential race. Republicans intensified their calls for an investigation by an independent prosecutor.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said Gore’s actions raise a “serious question” of wrongdoing and warrant investigation by an independent prosecutor. House Speaker Newt Gingrich likened the Democrats’ fund-raising tactics to the Watergate abuses 20 years ago.

Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle lashed back, calling Lott’s proposal “raw politics” and saying Gingrich, recently reprimanded by the House, “of all people should learn not to express himself in public on matters of this magnitude.”