ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 11, 1996 TAG: 9610110067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
AFTER CALLING the president "a criminal" at a Roanoke fund-raiser, the California Republican apologized.
U.S. Rep. Sonny Bono has apologized to President Clinton for calling him "a criminal" during a recent Republican fund-raising event in Roanoke.
Bono's press secretary, Frank Cullen, said Thursday that the former musician and TV star has sent a letter to Clinton "apologizing for any disrespectful remarks he made."
Cullen said Bono, a California Republican, made a mistake by not using the terms "alleged" or "the appearance of criminal acts" when talking about the Whitewater investigation and other scandals involving the Clinton administration. "He simply omitted a word or two," Cullen said.
"I shouldn't say things like that in any manner," Bono said after a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday at Palm Springs (Calif.) Regional Airport.
Bono made the original remarks during a Sept. 30 fund-raiser for his friend, Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke.
In comparing Clinton and the GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole, Bono said, "If anybody even dares to compare Bob Dole to Clinton, then they're comparing a criminal to an honest man."
He also said that Clinton was using CIA hit squads in Haiti to prop up that nation's U.S.-backed leader - allegations that the Clinton administration and independent experts on Haiti called ridiculous.
Goodlatte later called Bono's remarks "irresponsible."
Immediately after his speech, Bono stood by his charges.
But after the remarks drew the attention of the Washington Post and California newspapers, Bono backpedaled.
"It simply boils down to the fact he is not someone who is politically correct in the way he speaks," his spokesman, Cullen, said. "He's pretty bottom-line in what he says. He's not someone who's well-versed in the legalities of specific terms."
As for the hit-squad allegations, Cullen said, "He said that he does not have the evidence to verify that at this time."
"We're pleased that he apologized," said James Rubin, foreign policy spokesman for the Clinton re-election campaign in Washington, D.C.
The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Bono. color. KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENTby CNB