http://news.excite.com/news/r/990805/19/politics-funds
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Ex-White House aide invokes Fifth before Congress
Updated 7:52 PM ET August 5, 1999
By John Whitesides
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former White House
aide invoked his Fifth Amendment right against
self-incrimination before a Congressional committee
Thursday, refusing to answer a series of questions
on 1996 campaign fund raising.
Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the House
Government Reform Committee, and panel
Republicans questioned Mark Middleton for more
than 30 minutes about whether he had arranged
Democratic donations from Chinese or other foreign
contributors.
Middleton repeatedly asserted his right against
self-incrimination during the questioning, refusing to
answer even simple questions, such as whether he
was a lawyer.
Middleton's attorney, Robert Luskin of Washington,
said in a letter to Burton that Middleton had
cooperated with a Justice Department probe of
campaign fund raising allegations but would not
cooperate with Burton's panel because "the
committee's inquiry was not a search for the truth
but a campaign to punish."
"It has been prompted by a pattern of baseless
allegations, burdensome subpoenas, unending
harassment ... and malicious leaks of confidential
business information," the letter said.
Burton's panel has spent more than two years on a
highly acrimonious investigation of campaign fund
raising abuses by Democrats in the 1996 elections,
with Democrats attacking the effort as a costly and
politically inspired waste of time.
Burton has frequently mentioned Middleton as a key
player in the investigation, charging him with
soliciting foreign businesses for contributions to the
Clinton-Gore reelection campaign and tying him to
key figures in the scandal.
Rep. Bob Barr, a Georgia Republican, asked
Middleton directly whether he had been a "bagman"
for foreign donors. That question and others drew
objections from the panel's ranking Democrat, Rep.
Henry Waxman of California, who said continued
questioning of Middleton after he asserted his Fifth
Amendment rights was designed to harass and
embarrass him.
"This committee is establishing a new low," Waxman
said. "I'm highly offended at the way this committee
has acted."
Republican committee members warned Middleton
he could face a contempt citation for his refusal to
testify. "I would encourage you and your attorney to
sit down and cooperate with this committee so we
don't have to pursue this further," Rep. Asa
Hutchinson, an Arkansas Republican, said.[/quote]
Could it be that this cesspool is springing a leak?
------------------
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Ex-White House aide invokes Fifth before Congress
Updated 7:52 PM ET August 5, 1999
By John Whitesides
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former White House
aide invoked his Fifth Amendment right against
self-incrimination before a Congressional committee
Thursday, refusing to answer a series of questions
on 1996 campaign fund raising.
Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the House
Government Reform Committee, and panel
Republicans questioned Mark Middleton for more
than 30 minutes about whether he had arranged
Democratic donations from Chinese or other foreign
contributors.
Middleton repeatedly asserted his right against
self-incrimination during the questioning, refusing to
answer even simple questions, such as whether he
was a lawyer.
Middleton's attorney, Robert Luskin of Washington,
said in a letter to Burton that Middleton had
cooperated with a Justice Department probe of
campaign fund raising allegations but would not
cooperate with Burton's panel because "the
committee's inquiry was not a search for the truth
but a campaign to punish."
"It has been prompted by a pattern of baseless
allegations, burdensome subpoenas, unending
harassment ... and malicious leaks of confidential
business information," the letter said.
Burton's panel has spent more than two years on a
highly acrimonious investigation of campaign fund
raising abuses by Democrats in the 1996 elections,
with Democrats attacking the effort as a costly and
politically inspired waste of time.
Burton has frequently mentioned Middleton as a key
player in the investigation, charging him with
soliciting foreign businesses for contributions to the
Clinton-Gore reelection campaign and tying him to
key figures in the scandal.
Rep. Bob Barr, a Georgia Republican, asked
Middleton directly whether he had been a "bagman"
for foreign donors. That question and others drew
objections from the panel's ranking Democrat, Rep.
Henry Waxman of California, who said continued
questioning of Middleton after he asserted his Fifth
Amendment rights was designed to harass and
embarrass him.
"This committee is establishing a new low," Waxman
said. "I'm highly offended at the way this committee
has acted."
Republican committee members warned Middleton
he could face a contempt citation for his refusal to
testify. "I would encourage you and your attorney to
sit down and cooperate with this committee so we
don't have to pursue this further," Rep. Asa
Hutchinson, an Arkansas Republican, said.[/quote]
Could it be that this cesspool is springing a leak?
------------------
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"