-Caveat Lector- [01/14] Reno finds no wrongdoing by former top Gore aide WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday that no further investigation was required of criminal allegations involving Peter Knight, a former top aide to Vice President Al Gore. Refusing to move toward an independent counsel probe, Reno ended a 30-day review into whether Knight, who managed the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign, helped another Gore friend get favorable terms on a government lease and lied about it. The allegations involving Knight, who is expected to play a key role in Gore's 2000 presidential bid, were sent to the Justice Department by a congressional committee last month. Reno said in a statement that she concluded that she does not possess ``specific and credible information'' that Knight, who is covered by the independent counsel law, ``may have violated federal criminal law.'' She said there was ``no basis'' to begin a preliminary investigation into the allegations. The House Commerce Committee alleged that Knight helped Tennessee businessman and real estate developer Franklin Haney get the favorable terms on the lease and that in return Haney contributed $280,000 to the Democrats. The committee also alleged that Knight, a former chief of staff to Gore, lied to it about a $1 million fee Haney paid him. Reno twice late last year refused to seek an independent counsel to investigate Gore on campaign-related questions. In December, Reno decided against an independent counsel to investigate President Clinton and Gore over political ads financed by the Democratic Party during the 1996 election. In late November, Reno decided not to seek an independent counsel to investigate whether Gore lied to FBI agents about telephone fund-raising calls from his office during the 1996 presidential election campaign. Haney faces charges brought by a Justice Department task force investigating campaign finance abuses that he made nearly $80,000 in illegal contributions to Clinton's reelection effort and to two other candidates from Tennessee. The House Commerce Committee investigated financial and political ties between Haney and top Democratic officials, including Knight, over the lease of the Portals building in Washington, D.C. It is scheduled to become the Federal Communications Commission's new headquarters. The panel questioned whether $1 million payments to Knight and former Tennessee senator Jim Sasser were illegal contingency fees and whether they used their political influence to gain a government lease. Last Updated: 01/14/99 19:28 EST Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. http://legalnews.findlaw.com/news/19990114/ DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
