Gingrich Says Reno ‘Looks Like a Fool’ in Fund-Raising Probe
House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Saturday that Atty. Gen. Janet Reno “looks like a fool” for rejecting an independent counsel probe of White House coffees for Democratic donors.
“I am very disappointed in Atty. Gen. Reno’s failure to appoint an independent counsel,” Gingrich said at a Republican Party breakfast in his district north of Atlanta.
“She looks like a fool. I mean let’s be honest. This is a nice lady. I’ve given her the benefit of 700 doubts.”
Gingrich said if Reno is going to let her loyalty to Clinton take precedence over enforcing the law, she should resign.
In Washington, the Justice Department rebuffed Gingrich’s complaints as “political chest-thumping and name-calling.”
Reno herself has expressed anger about the Clinton administration’s delay in producing the videotapes, which show the president chatting with donors during the White House coffees.
Reno has said the episode strained her relationship with the White House and has suggested that she could reverse her decision and seek an independent prosecutor.
“This is one attorney general who calls them as she sees them,” said Justice spokesman Bert Brandenburg.
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