FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CRM

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 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 that further investigation is warranted into whether the Vice President knowingly and willfully made false statements to investigators during a campaign financing probe in 1997.

The 1997 investigation considered whether an Independent Counsel was required in connection with political fund-raising calls placed from the White House. The calls by the Vice President were intended to raise funds for a media campaign. At that time, the Attorney General concluded there were no grounds to seek an Independent Counsel, in part, because the overwhelming weight of the evidence supported the Vice President's statements that he was soliciting so-called soft money contributions, as opposed to hard money contributions.

During that investigation, the Vice President made statements to investigators that were later called into question by documents that his counsel provided to the Justice Department in July. Because the documents could lead to an inference that the Vice President's statements were false, the Attorney General launched a preliminary investigation.

The Attorney General issued the following statement:

"During the past 90 days, we have vigorously pursued an investigation to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant further investigation into whether the Vice President may have knowingly made false statements to investigators in 1997. As our court filing demonstrates, I have found that there are no reasonable grounds for further investigation.

"Today's determination does not mean that our work has ended. We will continue to vigorously investigate all allegations of illegal activity.

"In fact, for more than two years, the Justice Department's 120-member Campaign Financing Task Force has been investigating allegations of wrongdoing surrounding the 1996 elections. Task Force members have obtained more than a million pages of documents, conducted hundreds of interviews, and traveled across the country and around the world tracking down leads. Their work is paying off -- already 14 people have been charged.

"As I have said before, I base my decisions solely on the facts and the law, not politics, pressure or polls. Since I have become Attorney General, I have referred matters to independent counsels on ten separate occasions. And I will not hesitate to seek another one if the situation warrants. But that decision will be mine to make, and I will do so only if the law requires it."

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