Republicans Threaten Court Action Over Democratic Finance Report

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Oct. 29) -- The Republican National Committee chairman blasted Democrats today for failing to file a pre-election campaign finance report and said the GOP will ask a federal court to halt Democratic Party spending until the information is turned in.

According to Reuters, Haley Barbour announced the Republicans' intention to seek a temporary restraining order after the Democratic Party failed to file details of spending and contributions with the Federal Election Commission that were due last Thursday.

The RNC intends to file a complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington asking it to freeze all Democratic National Committee assets and prevent the DNC from spending any funds (on the election) until the FEC report is filed, Barbour said in a statement. He said Democrats are "thumbing their nose at the American people's right to know."

But his Democratic counterpart, Sen. Chris Dodd, said a full report would be released, and called the dispute "a tempest in a teapot."

"We're not holding back. Every document, whatever has to be complied with, will be available as fast as it could be," Dodd said in Boston.

The brouhaha erupted Monday, when the DNC said it did not intend to file a report with the commission summarizing expenditures and contributions from Oct. 1 to Oct. 16. DNC officials said they were not legally required to file the report, because they had no expenditures or contributions to document.

Under pressure, the DNC partially reversed course late Monday, saying it would release a list of contributors.

Chris Dodd

Today, however, Dodd told CNN it was a mistake not to file a full, official report with the FEC and ordered it done.

"If you don't make contributions (to candidates), then you don't legally have to file a report," Dodd said. "And so some staff made that decision (not to file)," Dodd said. "In my view, they were wrong. We should file it even if we don't have expenditures, because we're in that kind of an environment."

Barbour, however, said the Democrats' reluctance to file suggests they have something to hide.

"The most obvious question is what are Bill Clinton and the Democrats hiding?" Barbour asked. He noted several recent controversies involving Democratic fund-raising, including overseas contributions, a fund-raiser at a tax-exempt Buddhist temple and a $20,000 donation from a convicted drug smuggler.

"After these revelations, the American people and the news media can certainly be expected to ask, what are the Democrats hiding?" Barbour said. Barbour called on Clinton to order Dodd to produce the report and accused the Democrats of "flagrant flaunting of the law."

Barbour said the Democrats' reluctance to file mirrors a pattern of withholding information in other controversies, including the FBI files fiasco, Whitewater and the travel office firings.

"This gang seems to believe Bill Clinton and his administration don't have to play by the same rules as everybody else," Barbour said. "When challenged, they regularly attack the motives of their challengers, rather than coming clean and abiding by the law."

But Dodd said Barbour's assertions were "fundamentally false."

"Haley never let the facts get in the way of a good story," Dodd said. Dodd said with GOP nominee Bob Dole trailing in the presidential race, Barbour is "trying to do everything he can to breathe some life in a campaign that even Republicans have abandoned."

Republicans Threaten Court Action Over Democratic Finance Report

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