Woman Indicted in Debate Video Case

A woman who worked for President Bush’s campaign advertising firm was indicted Tuesday in the bizarre case of a pilfered debate video that was mailed mysteriously last fall to an advisor of then-Vice President Al Gore.

Juanita Yvette Lozano, 30, was charged by a federal grand jury in Austin, Texas, with mail fraud, perjury and lying to the FBI about her role in the political espionage, which has been the subject of a Justice Department investigation for nearly six months.

But the grand jury’s 12-page indictment, which was made public by the Justice Department in Washington, gave no hint as to Lozano’s alleged motive. Her Austin attorney, Christopher M. Gunter, had no immediate statement on her behalf.

Lozano, who faces up to 15 years in prison and a $750,000 fine if convicted on all charges, was a trusted employee of Mark McKinnon, Bush’s media consultant, when a 60-minute videotape and other secret Bush campaign materials showed up via express mail at the Washington law office of former Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.), who was helping Gore prepare for the presidential debates.

Although the return address on the package was bogus and listed a phony name, “Amy Smith,” Lozano immediately came under suspicion when a post office security camera showed her mailing a package on Sept. 12, the day before Downey received it.

Upon its receipt, Downey immediately turned over the package and its materials to the FBI for investigation. Lozano told authorities the package she was photographed mailing contained pants that McKinnon was returning to a Gap retail outlet.

Lozano, who used to baby-sit McKinnon’s children in addition to working for his firm for the past 10 years, claimed she was innocent, and McKinnon endorsed her honesty when she came under investigation. Earlier, Lozano had worked for Texas Democrats. She left McKinnon’s firm after the campaign ended.

McKinnon said Tuesday that “the news of the indictment is devastating to me and my family.”

“The particulars of the indictment, if true, raise very serious questions about Yvette’s activity and statements to not only prosecutors but to me. To say that I am disappointed would be an understatement.”

McKinnon referred other comment to his attorney, Rusty Hardin, who said “God only knows” what Lozano’s alleged motive was.

“The government has represented to us from the beginning they do not believe Mark had anything to do with this,” Hardin said. “He is not in any jeopardy himself. He has been fully cooperative and has appeared before the grand jury. Authorities believe no one else [besides Lozano] was involved.”

McKinnon and his wife had always trusted Lozano, who helped raise their children, Hardin added. “If this [indictment] turns out to be true, Mark and his wife are going to feel like there’s been a death in the family,” the attorney said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush “absolutely” still had confidence in McKinnon. He added: “The president has great trust in Mark McKinnon. He was a very loyal member of our team and always will be.”

Kiki McLean, a spokeswoman for Gore, said the former vice president would have no comment. McLean noted that the pilfered video--since it was immediately turned over to the FBI--”was not any help to anyone at all.”

According to the indictment, the videotape showed Bush during an hourlong practice session for his first debate with Gore. Included in the same package were 120 pages of confidential campaign material.

A note contained in the package wished “good luck” to Gore and said, “I will call you [Downey] soon to find out what other materials can be useful to the VP,” meaning Gore.

But no phone calls were ever made, authorities said.

The first count of the indictment charged Lozano with a mail-fraud scheme to defraud the Bush campaign of its “confidential and valuable work product,” and to defraud her employer, McKinnon Media Inc., of her “honest services.”

She was also charged with lying to FBI agents in denying she had mailed a package to Downey and in misleading agents about the reason for her trip to the post office.

Grand jurors charged in a third count that Lozano perjured herself in a voluntary appearance before the grand jury when she testified falsely that she knew nothing about Downey or his office address.