Reno Expected to Reject Gore Fund-Raising Probe Today

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno is planning to announce today that she has rejected the advice of a senior Justice Department official and will not name a special counsel to investigate campaign fund-raising in 1996 by Vice President Al Gore.

Reno’s decision, which senior department officials had been anticipating and was first reported in early editions of today’s New York Times, marks the third time she has decided not to follow the recommendations of other high-ranking law enforcement officials to investigate Gore’s campaign finance activities, including a luncheon at a Buddhist temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif.

Robert J. Conrad Jr., head of the department’s campaign finance task force, had urged Reno to name a special prosecutor to determine whether the vice president lied about the nature of the temple event. Thousands of dollars were raised from straw donors associated with the event.

While Reno is certain to be harshly criticized by congressional Republicans for her decision, the attorney general’s move is good news for Gore’s presidential campaign.

If Reno had named a special counsel to investigate Gore, it could have damaged his bid for the presidency and hurt his efforts to distance himself from lingering questions surrounding President Clinton and the Monica S. Lewinsky scandal that led to Clinton’s impeachment.

Last month, independent counsel Robert W. Ray impaneled a grand jury to consider whether to indict Clinton after he leaves office for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with his relationship with the former White House intern.

Senior Justice Department officials said Conrad’s recommendation to name a special counsel to investigate Gore was the weakest of the several formal recommendations Reno has received on the matter.