The Fund-Raising Probe

The congressional inquiries into campaign fund-raising abuses seem to grow by the day; they already encompass numerous committees and scores of investigators. Documents are coming into House and Senate office buildings by the box. Here’s a look at the web of activity:

SENATE

Governmental Affairs Committee

Although several Senate committee chairmen vied for a piece of the campaign fund-raising probe, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) consolidated the investigation in this panel. This week, the Senate gave it $4.35 million to conduct an inquiry of illegal and improper activity during the 1996 presidential and congressional campaigns. Hearings are expected this summer, with the investigation scheduled to end Dec. 31. The panel intends to focus first on illegalities, especially foreign money entering U.S. campaigns. Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), who was a staff lawyer for the Senate committee investigating Watergate, already has approved more than 50 subpoenas aimed at key figures, including 13 companies affiliated with the Lippo Group, the Indonesian-based conglomerate that employed John Huang, a former Commerce Department employee who became a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Government Reform and Oversight Committee

The House’s main investigative panel will lead an inquiry focusing on fund-raising abuses by the White House and the DNC. The committee has requested $3.8 million, but Democrats have called that excessive and the amount has yet to win approval. Democrats also object to a scope that omits fund-raising abuses by Republicans. The committee plans to meet next week to hash out disagreements, including how much authority ought to rest with Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.).

Although the full committee is leading the probe, subcommittees have taken pieces of their own. The civil service subcommittee, chaired by Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), is delving into possible violations of the Hatch Act, the law prohibiting federal employees from political activity, by various Democratic fund-raisers. The national security, international affairs and criminal justice subcommittee, headed by Rep. David M. McIntosh (R-Ind.), is working exclusively on the White House Office Database (WhoDB) and whether it was used for political activity.

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Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

This panel is studying whether the White House failed to adequately safeguard intelligence information when it gave Huang and others security clearances. The panel, headed by Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.), also will probe whether foreign governments have tried since 1992 to influence U.S. political campaigns.

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Banking and Financial Services Committee

Chairman James A. Leach (R-Iowa) heads an inquiry of a controversial White House coffee that convened bankers and the nation’s top bank regulator at the White House with President Clinton and DNC fund-raisers.

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International Relations Committee

Chairman Benjamin A. Gilman (R-N.Y.) heads an inquiry into the role of China, Indonesia and other nations in the fund-raising controversy.

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Rules Committee

Chairman Gerald B.H. Solomon (R-N.Y.) has probed why Huang kept his security clearance when he moved from the Commerce Department to the DNC.

Various other committees are operating on the periphery. The Small Business Committee, chaired by Rep. James M. Talent (R-Mo.), may look at politics at the Commerce Department. The Oversight Committee has jurisdiction over federal election laws. Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr. (R-Va.), chairman of the Commerce Committee, will continue looking at the political use of trade missions at the Commerce Department. The Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on treasury, postal service and general government, chaired by Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona, held a hearing this week on use of the White House for political purposes.

Source: Times Washington Bureau