Justice Puts Heat On Clinton 30-Day Review Of Campaign Calls Could Lead To Naming Of Another Special Prosecutor

The Justice Department announced Saturday it has begun a 30-day review into whether President Clinton made fund-raising phone calls from the White House. The inquiry is the first step in a process that could lead to the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Two weeks ago, a similar review was launched into Vice President Al Gore’s phone calls for the 1996 campaign. The latest inquiry comes days after Attorney General Janet Reno, embarrassed by her staffers’ failure to discover important evidence, reorganized and expanded the campaign finance unit.

The inquiry will focus on whether President Clinton made the phone calls, and whether he is covered by a 1971 law that prohibits federal officials from soliciting money on government property.

Clinton has said that he doesn’t recall making any fund-raising calls from the White House, but that he may have done so.

On Sept. 10, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee released DNC “call sheets” that were meant to prepare the president to solicit campaign contributions in 1995 and 1996 from some of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors. The memos, prepared by DNC finance Chairman Marvin Rosen and others, included some background information on each donor and a recommended contribution.

Lanny Davis, special counsel to the president, said in a statement, “We are cooperating and will continue to cooperate with the Department of Justice to ensure it has all the information it needs.”

“We are confident that no laws were broken,” Davis added.

The latest review renews attention on the president, even as he is enjoying his highest approval ratings. His popularity has not suffered from special counsel Kenneth Starr’s long-running investigation into the Clintons’ Whitewater land-development deal in Arkansas, or from the sexual-harassment lawsuit brought against him by former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones.

Roy Schotland, a Georgetown Law Center professor who specializes in election law, said the likelihood Reno will eventually name a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton is “not a remote possibility, it’s got reasonably good odds.”

Schotland also said that Reno was under pressure to take this action because of a lack of confidence in her staff, which learned important facts about Gore’s fund raising only through press reports.

“The fact that her own staff wasn’t able to come up with information that any reasonably intelligent high school student would find,” Schotland said. “I don’t think she had much choice but to do this.”

In addition, he said, the allegations regarding Gore’s activities are similar to those regarding Clinton’s.

Justice Department spokesman Myron Marlin said Saturday the department “is reviewing whether allegations that the president illegally solicited campaign contributions on federal property should warrant a preliminary investigation under the Independent Counsel Act.”

Justice Department action was welcomed by some members of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, which has been holding hearings to investigate campaignfinance abuses in the 1996 election.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who has criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the matter, said Saturday, “Coupled with the attorney general’s prior action as to Vice President Gore, it certainly looks as if independent counsel will ultimately be appointed.”

Specter has said the Justice Department’s investigation “lacks a key ingredient - independence.”

During the 30-day period, which began late last week, the department’s campaign finance task force will consider whether the information it has received from the White House and elsewhere is specific and credible. It is the same task force looking into Gore’s fund raising.

If the task force decides the allegations are credible, or if it does not have enough information to make that determination, it could demand a 90-day preliminary investigation. If it decides the information is not credible, the probe ends. If a 90-day investigation begins and finds a law may have broken, Reno would ask a federal court to appoint an independent prosecutor.

As the 30-day review proceeds, Justice Department officials will have to grapple with disagreement over whether the 1971 statute applies to the president and vice president.

In addition, some legal experts agree with the administration’s argument that the law is not applicable because it was intended to prevent government employees from being shaken down for contributions while on the job.