Senator Plans to Probe Fund-Raising Practices

WASHINGTON —  Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) will tell the Senate today that he is planning an investigation of fund-raising practices of both parties and is prepared to go to court, if necessary, to force the release of White House records.

Thompson, the new chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, will set no starting date for public hearings on the politically sensitive issue but will promise a “strong look” at foreign-source contributions and the whole pattern of relationships among donors, party operatives and executive branch officials.

“I’m trying to strike a tone that this will be handled with a firm hand, but fairly,” Thompson said in an interview, “but a lot will depend on the cooperation we get.”

Thompson, according to close associates, has no complaints so far about White House cooperation and is hopeful he has convinced President Clinton’s second-term team that he is not seeking partisan advantage from the hearings.

But he will tell the Senate that, in his view, Clinton and his legal counsel have used spurious claims of executive privilege and attorney-client privilege to impede congressional investigators or to deny them relevant material. Sources said Thompson wants the White House to be forewarned of his readiness to fight the battle in the courts.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) asked Thompson last week to investigate reports that Republican congressional leaders had threatened retaliation against lobbyists and interest groups that gave money to Democrats as well as to the GOP. And Monday, Daschle asked that the Governmental Affairs Committee also look into the use of tax-exempt nonprofit groups as “front organizations for political purposes.”

Some Republicans have accused Daschle of trying to load Thompson’s agenda with other issues to divert attention from the scandals that have engulfed the Clinton White House and the DNC.

But Thompson, associates said, will give strong assurances that he will examine questionable campaign finance practices regardless of party. They said he is ready to back up that promise with a pledge that Sen. John Glenn of Ohio, the ranking Democrat on his committee, will be allowed to direct staff investigations of issues he considers important and to call witnesses.

Meanwhile, Rep. Dan Burton, (R-Ind.) told Clinton on Monday that Deputy White House Counsel Bruce Lindsey should not be allowed to collect the documents for congressional investigators because he participated in a meeting that is part of the Democratic fund-raising inquiry.

“I would have preferred to resolve this matter without the necessity of requesting your assistance,” Burton, chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, said in a letter to the president. “However, I believe it is important that potential conflicts of interest are avoided at the outset” of current investigations by Congress and the Justice Department.

White House Special Counsel Lanny Davis had no comment on Burton’s request. Before he left the administration recently, former presidential counsel Jack Quinn told Burton he did not believe Lindsey had a conflict of interest and should not be removed from document collecting.

Lindsey was one of six senior White House aides who met with the director of Clinton’s legal defense fund last May and expressed concerns about offending donors if questionable contributions to the fund were returned.