CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / U.S. SENATE : Seymour Says Feinstein Skirted Donation Limits

Sen. John Seymour on Monday accused rival Dianne Feinstein of attempting to “launder” money through a national Democratic Party committee as a way to circumvent federal limits on campaign donations.

Feinstein’s staff immediately denied the allegation, calling it “more of the Seymour sleaze” and a desperate attempt by the appointed incumbent senator to divert attention from “real issues” of jobs and the economy. But they conceded that they made a mistake in a fund-raising letter.

In a series of dueling press conferences, surrogates for the two candidates for U. S. Senate hurled charges and countercharges as the rhetoric in the race for Seymour’s seat escalated.

With a copy of a Feinstein fund-raising letter blown up to poster size at his side, Seymour told reporters that his opponent solicited money illegally by suggesting that donations to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee of up to $20,000 could be earmarked for Feinstein.

“It is a clear pattern of arrogance by someone who feels above the law,” Seymour said, adding that he had filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

The Feinstein letter, written for an Aug. 27 fund-raiser in Beverly Hills, told potential contributors that their donations to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee “can be credited to the Dianne Feinstein account.” It went on to tell those supporters who had already given Feinstein the federal limit of $1,000 for a general election that the “DSCC tally is an avenue through which you can offer more support.”

The donors also were encouraged to write “Dianne Feinstein’s account” on the memo portion of their checks and to send the checks to Feinstein’s campaign headquarters for forwarding to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington.

Seymour, who has been attacking Feinstein on a series of ethics-related issues, pressed his case Monday during a news conference in a Burbank hotel. Earlier in the day, he repeated the demonstration in Sacramento and Oakland.

Meanwhile, aides to Feinstein held their own press conferences to answer Seymour’s charges.

Bill Carrick, a consultant to the Feinstein campaign, said money given to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee cannot be earmarked for specific candidates, and he said it was “regrettable” that the letter gave that impression.

“It was an unfortunate use of language, no question about that,” Carrick said.

Some aides suggested the instruction to donors that they write in the reference to Feinstein’s “account” was a way to lobby senatorial campaign committee officials so that they would allocate more money to Feinstein. The committee receives donations from all over the country and distributes the money to Senate campaigns based on a candidate’s ability to win, among other factors.

“Clearly, we’re trying to encourage the committee to give us as much money as they possibly can,” Carrick said.

The Republican Party has a similar fund-raising mechanism, and Seymour’s campaign expects to receive $2.5 million from it.

Feinstein’s campaign also counterattacked, accusing Seymour of illegally collecting $60,000 in donations. That money, Feinstein’s aides said, was revealed in an audit by the Federal Election Commission.

Seymour’s campaign director, Richard McBride, said the $60,000 was unsolicited money that had been contributed by people who had already reached their $1,000 limit and was returned--voluntarily--as soon as it was discovered.