THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 6, 1994 TAG: 9407060011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
President and Mrs. Clinton have come up with a trailblazing foray in presidential fund raising: the first-ever Presidential Legal Expense Trust, authorized to accept contributions of up to $1,000 from individuals who presumably ask only the privilege of helping the Clintons defray millions in attorneys' fees. Contributors' names will be disclosed in semiannual reports.
The fund has been made necessary by the kind of fees that Washington super-lawyers such as Robert Bennett charge to defend against things like the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit. The Clintons have also spent big bucks fending off multipronged legal attacks in the Whitewater affair.
It is certainly possible to sympathize with the Clintons about the cost of lawyers these days. Just ask former Assistant Secretary of State Elliot Abrams. He copped a misdemeanor plea in the Iran-Contra affair rather than fight in court to defend his honor because he feared, almost certainly with justice, that the cost would bankrupt his family.
Still, there is something unseemly about a president banging a begging bowl. The legality of the fund is also open to question. The White House didn't even ask for a written opinion from the Justice Department before setting it up.
This unprecedented effort is ablaze with potential for abuse. There is no bar to personal contributions to the fund from lobbyists, for instance. Worse, the lobbyists do not have to identify their employers. So the corporations, political-action committees and others who are barred from making contributions could simply do so through their lobbyists.
But cutting ethical corners is, unfortunately, nothing new for this White House. Indeed, it is at the root of much of the legal and political trouble in which the White House now finds itself. As famous and influential a couple as President and Mrs. Clinton ought to be able to cover their own legal bills without further compromising the dignity of the office by rattling a cup. ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
MR. CLINTON
by CNB