FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CRM

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1998

(202) 616-2777

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

TDD (202) 514-1888

STATEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno today informed the Special Division of the Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. that there are no reasonable grounds to believe further investigation is warranted into allegations that President Clinton violated federal criminal law through his involvement with political ads financed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

On August 7, the Justice Department's Campaign Financing Task Force received memoranda from the Audit Division of the Federal Election Committee (FEC). The memoranda preliminarily concluded that certain funds spent by the DNC on broadcast advertising constituted in-kind contributions to two Clinton/Gore campaign committees, in violation of federal law. The FEC Audit Division reached its conclusion by determining that the ads were coordinated by the DNC and the campaign committees, referred to a clearly identified candidate, and contained an 'electioneering message.' As a result, the Attorney General launched a preliminary investigation under the Independent Counsel Act.

Following the preliminary investigation, Reno concluded that no further criminal investigation is warranted because there is clear and convincing evidence that the President and Vice President lacked the criminal intent to violate the law. The Attorney General's conclusion was based on the fact that they were advised by counsel that the advertising campaign complied with the law.

In today's filing, Reno indicated that the President and others not only were advised that the advertising campaign was lawful, but that lawyers were pre-screening every ad to ensure they complied with the law. Under established law, good faith reliance on the advice of counsel negates criminal intent.

Additionally, according to the filing, established Justice Department policy dictates that the Justice Department defer to the FEC for the interpretation of ambiguous election laws. In the filing, Reno notes that at a recent hearing, FEC Commissioners expressed the view that the standard at the time was 'fuzzy' and 'hardly clear.'

In deciding against further criminal investigation, Reno made no finding as to whether the issue advertisements complied with election laws.

The Attorney General today issued the following statement:

"For several months, the Justice Department's Campaign Financing Task Force has been conducting an extensive investigation to determine whether further investigation is warranted into allegations that the President, or any other covered person, violated federal criminal law through their involvement with political ads financed by the DNC during the 1996 election cycle.

"Since August, the Task Force has interviewed virtually every participant in the DNC issue advertisement effort and reviewed hundreds of campaign documents. Additionally, it obtained permission to review materials reflecting interaction between attorneys and the President, Vice President, the DNC and two Clinton/Gore '96 committees. As our court filing demonstrates, I have found there are no reasonable grounds for further criminal investigation.

"To criminally prosecute someone for election law violations, there must be evidence that the individual knowingly and willfully violated the law. I have determined that there is clear and convincing evidence that neither the President nor any other covered person acted with criminal intent in connection with the issue advertisements.

"In reaching my decision, I did not make any finding as to whether the issue advertising campaign complied with the law. That is a matter pending before the FEC. I also did not make any finding as to whether such advertising should be permitted as a matter of policy. I have determined only that, in this particular case, there are no reasonable grounds upon which to conduct a further criminal investigation.

"Today's determination only ends our probe into whether issue ads paid for by the DNC violated federal criminal statutes. It does not end our vigorous investigation into allegations of illegal activity surrounding the 1996 elections. That investigation already has resulted in charges against 14 people."

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