Judge Drops Case Against Fiedler, Aide

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge today dismissed indictments against Rep. Bobbi Fiedler and her top political aide for having allegedly offered a $100,000 campaign contribution to lure state Sen. Ed Davis out of the Republican U.S. Senate primary.

Judge Robert T. Altman, concurring with defense lawyers and the district attorney’s office, ruled that inadequate evidence existed to convict Fiedler of the state Election Code statute, which makes it illegal to pay a candidate to secure his withdrawal from an election.

In the case of Paul Clarke--Fiedler’s top aide and fiance--Altman ruled that Clarke had not violated the language of the state statute even if Clarke did offer an inducement to Davis to drop out of the race. The state law, Altman emphasized, covers the advance, payment, solicitation or receipt of money--but not an offer to pay money.

Ruling Hailed

Defense attorneys hailed Altman’s ruling, which likely brought an end to the highly controversial case that has stirred national interest and has had profound impact on the ongoing Senate race.

“They won, they are innocent,” said Fiedler’s co-counsel, Daniel H. Lowenstein. “They did nothing illegal, they did nothing immoral.”

However, Deputy Dist. Atty. Steven A. Sowders, who prosecuted the case, said he believed that the indictment against Clarke was dismissed on a technicality. Sowders added that his office could still appeal the Clarke ruling to the state Court of Appeal.

Prosecutors had no quarrel with Altman’s ruling on Fiedler, since last week, at the direction of Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, they had filed papers with Altman asking him to dismiss the indictment against the Republican congresswoman from Northridge.

Indictment Not Recommended

The district attorney’s office had recommended to the Los Angeles County Grand Jury last month that it not indict Fiedler--but the independent panel, after hearing evidence from seven witnesses, voted to indict her anyway. Prosecutors had recommended that Clarke be indicted and were prepared to begin trial next week on his case.

Fiedler and Clarke were the subject of a two-month investigation that began after the Davis camp reported to prosecutors last November that a mid-level Fiedler supporter had made overtures to a mid-level Davis supporter about a possible campaign contribution to retire Davis’ campaign debt if Davis quit the race.

During the probe, Davis’ campaign manager, Martha Zilm, made a series of secret tape recordings of her telephone conversations and meeting with Fiedler staffers--including Fiedler and Clarke themselves--at the behest of the district attorney’s office.

At the time Fiedler and Clarke were notified by authorities that they were under investigation--on Jan. 12, when prosecutors made a surprise visit to Fiedler’s home--no exchange of money between the two camps had occurred.