Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 15, 1993 TAG: 9301150218
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
WILDER STILL WON'T RULE OUT CHALLENGING ROBB IN SENATE
Gov. Douglas Wilder's deliberations over whether to run for the U.S. Senate next year will not be affected by a grand jury's refusal this week to indict Sen. Charles Robb, Wilder insisted Thursday."I haven't ruled anything in or anything out," the governor told reporters.
After an 18-month investigation, the grand jury declined to indict Robb on charges related to the dissemination of a clandestinely taped telephone conversation Wilder had with a political supporter in 1988.
Robb aides leaked a transcript of the tape to reporter in 1991, prompting Wilder to angrily proclaim himself "a victim of crime." Three Robb aides have since pleaded guilty to offenses and resigned.
A friend of Robb's in Virginia Beach, Bruce L. Thompson, was charged with three felonies in the case on Tuesday. Though Robb was cleared, the indictment against Thompson alleged that the senator was kept informed by his staff about their efforts to use the tape against Wilder.
Wilder is weighing challenging Robb for the Democratic senatorial nomination next year. The governor sidestepped an invitation to respond to suggestions that the grand jury's refusal to indict Robb could give the senator a new lease on his battered political career.
"I think the facts will speak for themselves," Wilder said. "The people of Virginia will be the ultimate judge of that."
As for his reaction to the grand jury's decision, Wilder said "for him [Robb] and his family not to have to face the ordeal of a criminal trial, they must feel very relieved. I wish him well. . . .
"I have never felt that anyone's demise is endemic to my success and I have never wished him any ill will. I never wanted him to be indicted, I never asked that he be indicted, I never sought his indictment or anything else."
Wilder declined to say whether he believes justice has been served in the case. "From what I've read and heard, the matter is ongoing and there's no finality to it," he said, noting Thompson's pending trial.
Wilder dismissed suggestions that he is unpopular with a coalition of moderate-to-conservative Democrats identified with Robb, former Gov. Gerald Baliles and Attorney General Mary Sue Terry.
"There are any number of people who have supported Chuck Robb, supported Jerry Baliles, support Mary Sue Terry and who support me," he said. "So I think it's more a fiction to say there are cliques. There are a few people, but the vast majority of people who are responsible for my election don't belong to anyone."
Wilder, whose term expires next January, refused to discuss his recent threat not to support Terry's bid to succeed him. Wilder has been angered by the attorney general's criticism of the management of the state employees' pension fund.
Asked if he might change his mind about Terry's candidacy, Wilder said: "People do that every day."
"What about you?" a reporter asked.
"I'm a person," he laughed.
Keywords:
POLITICS