ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610210065
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DENVER
SOURCE: Hearst Newspapers
Republican presidential challenger Bob Dole accused the White House on Friday of Watergate-style campaign fund raising that includes illegal laundering of foreigners' donations.
Dole demanded that President Clinton's re-election campaign reveal the identity of foreign donors, the sources of their money and the amounts of their contributions.
``Our elections are not for sale to some foreign influence or some foreign interest,'' Dole declared. ``We don't want these illegal contributions coming into America distorting the process, corrupting the process.''
Dole made his allegations before small but enthusiastic crowds of several hundred placard-waving supporters in Albuquerque, N.M., and flag-waving students at Place Middle School in Denver.
Another allegation, made perhaps half-jokingly: Dole and New Mexico's Republican governor, Gary Johnson, both challenged Clinton's claim that he shot an 83 during an 18-hole round of golf here this week.
``I don't know whether he shot an 83 or 283 or 483. You'll never really know,'' Dole said.
``He said he shot an 83,'' Johnson said. ``I've asked 50 people, and nobody believes he shot an 83 while he was here.''
Dole said some of the anti-Dole campaign ads being broadcast by the Clinton-Gore campaign may have been paid for by foreign money. ``This abuse of power must stop,'' he said.
Dole, who has accused Clinton of trading campaign contributions for access to the Oval Office, raised questions about Yogesh Gandhi, the head of the San Francisco-based Gandhi Foundation, who presented Clinton with the Gandhi World Peace Award at a Democratic fund-raiser on May 13 and subsequently donated $325,000 to Clinton's re-election effort.
The Gandhi contribution was revealed by NBC News Thursday night.
``Some guy named Gandhi who claims he's related to Mohatma Gandhi gave $300,000'' to the Democratic Party, Dole said. ``He owes $10,000 in back taxes. You know he never had $300,000. Somebody gave him the $300,000, and he passed it on to the Democratic National Committee.''
Dole's latest allegations came in the wake of earlier questions about the Democrats' receipt of $425,000 from a wealthy Indonesian couple and an illegal $250,000 contribution from a South Korean firm that was returned.
``Here's a president who often talks about a bridge to the future. More often it seems it's a bridge to wealthy political donors,'' Dole said. He accused the Democrats of taking ``money laundering to an art form.''
Firing back, the Clinton campaign noted three separate investigations of allegations of improper donations to Dole's campaign this year.
In one case, a businessman agreed to pay a $6 million fine for illegally reimbursing employees for contributions to Dole. He and senior aides have denied any knowledge of improper contributions.
``Bob Dole likes to give these speeches, but maybe he ought to be more worried about cleaning up his own campaign,'' said Clinton campaign spokesman Joe Lockhart.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENTby CNB