There does seem to be something suspicious going on here, however. Why did a preliminary recommendation by Conrad, the lead attorney since last December on the Justice Department's Campaign Financing Task Force, leak this information now, at a moment of political vulnerability for Gore? Why did Sen. Arlen Specter convene a press conference so swiftly to confirm that leak? And by the way, who is Robert Conrad Jr.?

The answers to the first two questions seem obvious enough; the latter, however, is considerably more interesting. Identified in most news stories simply as "a federal prosecutor" or "Justice Department attorney," Conrad appears to be a product of the ultra-right-wing Jesse Helms machine in North Carolina. He was hired in 1989 to serve as an assistant U.S. attorney in Charlotte, N.C. by U.S. Attorney Tom Ashcraft, who himself had formerly served as chief legislative assistant to Sen. Helms.

Moreover, federal election records show that in 1996, a Robert Conrad Jr. of Charlotte, N.C., listing his occupation as "attorney," donated $250 to the Helms reelection campaign. Although there is no legal or bureaucratic restriction against such donations by federal prosecutors, many if not most avoid giving money to politicians while in office to avoid any hint of partisan bias. Calls to Conrad's office to confirm that it was he who contributed the money to Helms were not immediately returned.

Even if Conrad turns out to be a true-believing Helms acolyte, of course, that doesn't necessarily mean he would abandon fairness in pursuit of Al Gore. Regardless of his own ideological slant, the prosecutor might consider it his professional duty to seek a special counsel investigation of the vice president.

Still, the prospect of partisan influence here is disturbing. And far more troubling than Conrad's political pedigree would be the discovery that he was somehow involved in divulging his recommendation to the press -- a judgment which must await Reno's reported plans to investigate that leak.

The notion that Janet Reno is covering up for Al Gore is ludicrous on its face. She has consistently requested independent counsel investigations of the Clinton-Gore administration where such action was warranted (and sometimes where perhaps it wasn't). So far she has determined that there isn't enough evidence to initiate a special probe of the vice president. If new and credible information emerges she may change her mind. But the current campaign of leaks and press conferences, clearly designed to intimidate the attorney general during an election year, is disgraceful. Reno has vowed to ignore it, and she should.

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