For DNC, Subpoenas Lead to Daunting Paper Shuffle

On the fourth floor of the Democratic National Committee headquarters building, it looks like the occupants have just moved in--or are about to move out.

Large packing cases are stacked nearly to the ceiling, each one logged with a four-digit code to designate what’s inside. Office furniture is in disarray. Tables, desks and chairs have been pushed aside.

The 17 temporary staff members hired to fill the boxes and pile them up are doing nothing to advance the Democratic cause. Rather, they are trying to comply with congressional and, to a lesser extent, Justice Department demands to furnish tens of thousands of files related to the political fund-raising furor that has enveloped the party.

The effort has cost $4 million so far for an organization estimated to be $14 million in debt, according to DNC officials. The costs have included creation of a special computerized database, extensive computer searches, copying expenses and the hiring of outside lawyers, as well as the extra employees.

To help cover costs, the DNC has taken some belt-tightening steps, designed to save about $55,000 by year’s end. It has pulled beepers from 75 staffers (more than half of those who had them), canceled 122 newspaper subscriptions and purged its fax list of 1,400 numbers considered of marginal use.

It also has gratefully accepted $136 from a local Maryland Democratic Club--the proceeds of six hours work by volunteers who manned a booth at a flea market.

The work of complying with subpoenas seems never to end.

A recent visit to committee headquarters found squads of the young temps busily calling up documents on computer screens to determine if they’re relevant to what congressional committees have asked for. Others were meticulously paging through stacks of paper files or running copying machines incessantly. Dressed in jeans and short-sleeve shirts, many said they were working 11 to 12 hours a day.

Not only are Democratic officials unhappy about the legal burden forced on them, but Republicans seem dissatisfied as well.

“We’re getting documents at a snail’s pace,” grouses an attorney for the GOP-controlled Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, the main panel probing the affair. Its hearings begin next week.

Yet Democratic officials insist more than 275,000 documents already have been surrendered to the congressional investigators and U.S. prosecutors probing questionable fund-raising tactics and contributions that ultimately benefited President Clinton’s reelection.

The officials claim subpoenas are forcing them to look through 9 million pages, including letters, memos, e-mail messages, personal files and computer documents.

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An added problem hampering the search is the lack of continuity, a common trait of most campaign organizations. People usually are hired or volunteer to work in a campaign for a limited time, and disappear once an election is over. They often leave behind a mishmash of files for the next person who inherits their office space. In complying with subpoenas, current officeholders are left to wonder: Why was this letter written? What was the meaning of this memo in our files? Is it covered by subpoena?

The most harried and distracted executive at the DNC clearly is Steve Grossman, who as national chairman must supervise day-to-day operations. But instead of concentrating on the next election cycle, Grossman stalks the offices in his shirt sleeves to confer with attorneys and the temporary employees about the record search.

Along with the rising legal expenses resulting from the probe, donations have been lagging. To some degree, that’s normal, as contributors seek a respite during the months after a presidential election. But Grossman says there is “no doubt” the furor over fund-raising “has had some impact on the desire of others to participate in the political process.”