ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 19, 1993                   TAG: 9303190384
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


GOVERNOR: ROBB GOT OFF `SCOT FREE'

THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS are excerpts from Gov. Douglas Wilder's Thursday news conference.

\ Yesterday, the fifth member of the conspiracy to discredit me and the office of governor of Virginia pleaded guilty to federal crimes. Previously, I had withheld comment on the particulars of the case since an investigation was ongoing.

Now I believe it is time to take a look at the entire record. In short, there can be no doubt that Chuck Robb and his staff have gotten off scot free.

Their strategy to deflect attention away from Robb's personal problems and continue "guerilla war" with me has largely succeeded, five men have pleaded guilty and received little punishment, and Senator Robb escaped prosecution altogether, as a result of some highly questionable practices. Robb's state director, Christine Bridge, who crafted the memo outlining the need to, and how to, discredit me, is still employed with taxpayers' dollars.

Furthermore, stories about Robb's personal life, which appeared just before the illegally obtained tape was released, have indeed stopped.

But his legal and public relations victory should not distract us from the facts. While Robb remains unindicted, there can be no doubt that he is a co-conspirator. . . .

Bruce Thompson, Bobby Watson, David McCloud and Steve Johnson were not rogue operators, they were all the senator's men. Together with Robb's Richmond liaison, Chris Bridge - who still remains on staff - they drafted and carried out elaborate schemes to quash investigations of the senator, threaten opponents into making comments and sabotaged the reputations of others merely to provide a diversion from their own political problems. . . .

As I have stated before, this elaborate political network - which extended to the staff of the national Democratic Party - constitutes a political scandal on a grand scale, and the man at the core was not only fully aware of the activities, he monitored and encouraged them in every way. . . .

In the plea agreements, it is clear that Robb's staff has spent untold hours planning how to use the illegally obtained tapes. What's worse, Robb was not only aware of the existance of the tape of my conversation since 1990, but he requested a transcript and ordered legal opinions regarding the repercussions of publicly releasing the tapes.

The mindset of the Robb staff is well established in the Bridge memo. This extraordinary document explicitly explains how the tape could be used to deflect attention away from stories about Senator Robb's personal life, and to discredit me. . . .

But look at the facts: I am not responsible for stories about Robb's personal life and his activities in Virginia Beach. I did not create Tai Collins or Billy Franklin or mysterious, questionable acquaintances in Boston; the senator's own behavior brought these people into the news. . . .

I don't look for fights, but everyone knows I don't run from them either. . . . I have always fought on principles, and even when people disagreed with me, I thought those who did so were entitled to their beliefs and that they were not feuding with me. In this instance, when I stand up for my rights, I am feuding. . . .

This case constitutes an enormous breach of public trust. Americans have had to put up with too many scandals with too many actors and too much blame to place. But in this case, all the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of one man, who employed his top aides in shenanigans that had nothing at all to do with serving the people, and everything to do with protecting his career. . . .

There are those who have asked whether I expect an apology from Robb. No, I don't expect any, nor have I asked for any apology. Nor do I expect him to publicly denounce and castigate those who worked for him to illegally smear and discredit me. Because I don't believe it's in him.



by Archana Subramaniam by CNB