-Caveat Lector- Senate colleagues boost Torricelli defense fund By Laurence Arnold, Associated Press, 7/13/2001 17:36 WASHINGTON (AP) Once cautious even with public expressions of support, Senate Democrats are rallying around Sen. Robert Torricelli with donations to help defray legal bills he has incurred as the subject of a federal investigation. In the past two months, Torricelli's legal defense fund received donations from political committees affiliated with Sens. Tom Daschle of South Dakota ($10,000), Hillary Clinton of New York ($10,000), John Breaux of Louisiana ($2,000), Harry Reid of Nevada ($500) and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts ($500). The donations were listed in a report released Friday by Torricelli's office. In addition, Torricelli spokesman Dale Leibach said House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri recently gave $10,000 the maximum amount allowed by law and the Democratic National Committee has promised a $10,000 contribution next week. ''I am grateful for the support I have received from my colleagues in the House and Senate, and the leadership of my party, throughout this long and costly investigation,'' Torricelli said in a statement, also thanking the people of New Jersey. Daschle, in a statement released by his DASHPAC, said Torricelli ''has forcefully stated that he has done nothing wrong. I believe him and will support his every effort to resolve this matter and put it behind him.'' Patti Solis Doyle, executive director of HILLPAC, said Clinton ''wanted to help her friend and colleague in this way.'' Torricelli formed the defense fund last fall in response to an ongoing federal investigation into his personal and political finances. Torricelli has never been charged, but seven people have pleaded guilty to making illegal donations to his 1996 Senate campaign. For a time, Torricelli's Democratic colleagues appeared reluctant to go to bat for him. But that has changed in recent weeks as Torricelli has gone on the offensive, accusing federal investigators of leaking damaging and inaccurate allegations about him to the press. Torricelli asked Attorney General John Ashcroft to name an independent counsel to oversee the case, since Torricelli had a role in ousting Ashcroft from the Senate last year. But Ashcroft has recused himself from the investigation, and his deputy, Larry D. Thompson, rejected the request for an independent counsel, leaving the case in the hands of Mary Jo White, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. All told, Torricelli's legal fund collected $315,625 from 65 contributors from April 1 through June 30. Over the same period it paid $295,920 to law firms and an additional $5,460 in other expenses. Since the fund was created last fall, it has raised more than $977,000 and spent more than $704,000. Those figures are just a snapshot of the fund's status at the end of June and do not mean Torricelli has raised more than he needs. Torricelli is paying some legal bills through a separate campaign account. He has pledged to cover his own legal bills as well as those incurred by aides who worked on his 1996 campaign for the Senate. Roberta Stern, an executive assistant in Torricelli's Newark office, opened her own legal defense fund in March and no longer receives assistance from Torricelli's fund. Her latest report, also released Friday by her lawyers, show she received $40,150 in contributions over the past three months and spent $47,623. Former New Jersey Reps. Frank Guarini ($2,000) and Herb Klein ($2,500) were among the contributors to Torricelli's fund in the last three months. The fund received $1,000 from Mark S. Hochberg of Roseland, whose wife, Faith, was the U.S. attorney for New Jersey when the Torricelli investigation began in 1995. Hochberg recused herself from the case after Torricelli helped get her nominated to her current post as a federal judge in Newark. Casino developer Donald Trump gave $5,000. Dallas trial lawyers Frederick Baron and partner Russell Budd gave $10,000 and $5,000, respectively. Another Dallas law firm, Silber Pearlman, gave $10,000. Also giving $10,000 each were Andrew McKelvey, creator of the monster.com online job referral service and founder of Americans for Gun Safety; Bernard Schwartz, chairman of Loral Space & Communications; and Camden County, N.J., Democratic activist George Norcross. On the Net: Sen. 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