March 15, 2002

 

BY HAND DELIVERY:                                BY FEDEX:

 

Special Division                                                Honorable John Ashcroft

U.S. Court of Appeals for the                           Attorney General of the United States

District of Columbia                              U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Courthouse                                               950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
333 Constitution Avenue, NW              Washington, D.C.  20530
Washington, D.C. 20001-2866

 

 

Supplement to February 21, 2002 Complaint by Judicial Watch, Inc., Requesting An Investigation of Independent Counsel Robert Ray For Political Activity Inconsistent With His Official Duties As A Federal Employee

 

 

Gentlemen:

 

            As you know, Judicial Watch is a public interest law firm that investigates and prosecutes government corruption and abuse.  On February 21, 2002 Judicial Watch filed a formal complaint against Independent Counsel Robert Ray and requested that a thorough investigation be conducted concerning Mr. Ray’s recent political activities in connection with a campaign for elected office in the State of New Jersey.

 

            Within the past week additional information has become public that bears directly upon not only Mr. Ray’s unethical conduct with respect to his political candidacy for the United States Senate, but also upon Mr. Ray’s official duties with respect to his investigations and reporting of matters connected to various Clinton Administration scandals and illegalities.

 

            There are two major issues we wish to call to your attention through this supplement to our February 21, 2002 complaint.  First, Mr. Ray was actively engaged in a political campaign for a seat in the United States Senate representing New Jersey while serving as Independent Counsel.  Second, Mr. Ray’s reporting, specifically, his “Final Report of the Independent Counsel (In re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association, Div. No. 94-1 (D.C. Cir. [Spec. Div.] Jan. 16, 1998) (regarding Monica Lewinsky and others)” contains incomplete, false and misleading information.  Judicial Watch contends that Mr. Ray’s incomplete, false and misleading reporting is a result and consequence of his personal political ambitions, and that Mr. Ray has abused his office by knowingly and willingly suppressing facts that bear directly on the fundamental questions that called for the appointment of an Independent Counsel.

 

            In the March 7, 2002 edition of Roll Call, Paul Kane and Chris Cillizza report in an article entitled, “Ray Scrambling For GOP Support” that:

 

“Legally barred from running for office while still a federal

 prosecutor, Independent Counsel Robert Ray has been

quietly taking steps for at least the past two months to
mount a bid for the Republican nomination to challenge
Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.).

With his various investigations into the Clinton family now
officially concluded, Ray could soon announce that he will
be a contender for the GOP Senate nod. But according to
numerous party insiders, he'd already begun to lay the
groundwork even before wrapping up his official duties,
moves that included:

- attending a large GOP dinner at the home of New Jersey's
governor on Jan. 10, the last full night a Republican occupied the Drumthwacket mansion;

- meeting with the state's Republican chairman, state
Sen. Joe Kyrillos, and other top operatives and fundraisers;

- reaching out to other conservative candidates already in the race,
which is sure to revive earlier speculation that Ray will try to clear
the field on the right and run as the consensus conservative in a crowded primary.

Officially, Ray had no comment about his possible entry into
the New Jersey Senate race. ‘He hasn't made any decisions as
of today what he's going to do. As of today, his job is independent counsel,’ Lynda Flippin, Ray's spokeswoman, said yesterday.”

*      *      *

“What few steps Ray has made publicly so far - openly pondering
political office in a media interview and indirectly attacking
Torricelli's ‘paralysis of investigations and scandals’ at a
GOP fundraiser last month - have been met with condemnation
from a leading House Democrat. Rep. John Conyers (Mich.),
ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, has accused
Ray of violating the spirit, if not the letter, of the law
governing his appointment.

In a bitter exchange of letters, Conyers accused Ray of
Clintonian contortions of legal definitions regarding actual
campaigning and fundraising to avoid breaking the law.

‘As you conclude an investigation that has decried legal
hair-splitting and verbal gamesmanship, I would hope you
would not hide behind a false distinction based upon what
the meaning of the word ”candidate” is,’ Conyers wrote to
Ray on Monday.

In his only direct comment on the Torricelli race, Ray wrote
to Conyers that he has not broken any laws because he has
not actually undertaken a campaign. ‘I am not now a candidate
or running to be a candidate for partisan political office. I have
not filed as a candidate or as a nominee. I have not sought or
solicited campaign contributions, raised money or sought or
received endorsements. In short, there is currently no campaign
for office of which I am a participant whatsoever,’ Ray, of
Rumson, N.J., wrote last week.

But interviews with numerous lawmakers, candidates,
fundraisers and other GOP operatives in the Garden State
painted a different picture, one of an individual with lofty
political aspirations who is seeking the attention necessary to transform him into a viable candidate for the rapidly
approaching June primary.

To be sure, Ray has been very careful in how he has worded
his pitches, taking pains not to officially ask anyone for their
support, either financially or through endorsements. ‘He's been
very, very careful not to cross over the line,’ said one New Jersey Republican official who met with Ray. ‘I know it's very frustrating
for him.’

On Tuesday, the day before his last official action as independent
counsel, Ray called state Sen. John Matheussen, the only
anti-abortion candidate currently in the GOP Senate field.

‘We got to know each other for a few moments,’ Matheussen
said yesterday. ‘He was not committed to say whether he was
running.’

Ray has also spoken with Assemblyman Guy Gregg, who has
been trying to mount a campaign targeted at supporters of
Bret Schundler, the conservative former Jersey City mayor
who won the GOP gubernatorial nomination but lost the
general election last fall.

‘He thinks that this notoriety of the special prosecutor can
give him name recognition,’ explained Gregg, who was
heavily involved in Schundler's governor's race.

Some New Jersey GOP insiders are already speculating that Ray,
whose ideological positions on matters beyond law and order
remain unknown, will try to push aside Matheussen and Gregg.

With the filing deadline set for April 8 and most big county
endorsements already being decided, Ray isn't likely to have
any institutional backing if he runs. Essex County Executive
Jim Treffinger has been locking up most of the large county
endorsements, and state Sen. Diane Allen has the backing of some prominent fundraisers looking for a moderate woman to contrast
with the scandal-plagued Torricelli. Douglas Forrester, a
businessman, could also play a big role, particularly if he's
willing to spend in the seven-figure range from his fortune.

In a crowded field, one candidate with solid conservative backing
could possibly overtake the moderate GOP establishment figures.

Gregg, for one, is skeptical about Ray's conservative credentials.
’People don't know his political ideology,’ he said, vowing to stay
in the race. ‘Washington thinks he is a conservative, but I don't know.’

In a new poll conducted by Quinnipiac College, Torricelli led all
his potential GOP opponents. Ray's showing against the Senator,
53 percent to 28 percent, was statistically indistinguishable from
his potential Republican rivals.

*      *      *

“One prominent New Jersey GOP fundraiser recalled returning
home from a New Year's vacation to discover a phone message
from ‘Robert Ray from Rumson.’

Puzzled, the fundraiser said he returned the call and left a message,
only to get a return call the next day from a new phone number
with a Washington, D.C., area code. It finally dawned on the
fundraiser that the man trying to reach him was Robert Ray the independent counsel.

‘It didn't register to me at first,’ the fundraiser said, requesting
anonymity.

When the two finally connected on Jan. 7, the fundraiser told
him he was staying neutral in the Senate race, but said he
encouraged Ray to keep up his efforts, as none of the other
candidates had yet ‘caught the imagination.’”

*      *      *

“In an effort to begin making inroads, Ray and his wife were
given an invitation to the Jan. 10 event at the governor's mansion,
where he mingled with many key players. ‘He had a very positive evening,’ the fundraiser said.

Ray has since had a meeting with Kyrillos, according to two
GOP operatives.

By Feb. 12, Ray attended a GOP fundraiser in honor of
Abraham Lincoln in Monmouth County, his home county.
Quoting from Lincoln's first address in his maiden campaign,
the 41-year-old prosecutor said, ‘I am young and unknown to
many of you. ... My case is thrown exclusively upon the ... voters.’

He went on to call for "new leadership with renewed energy"
by the "young and the young at heart" for New Jersey. Without
naming Torricelli, Ray jumped into full campaign mode, launching
what was probably his first political attack ever, official or not.

‘If President Bush can restore honor and dignity to the Oval Office,
then we can have - and deserve - principled, ethical and trustworthy leadership for New Jersey in the United States Senate,’ he said.

‘I look forward to the debate in the months ahead, the battleground
of ideas and results, rather than the paralysis of investigations and scandal.’” (Emphasis added)

Exhibit 1

            As you are well aware, Mr. Ray resigned as Independent Counsel on March 12, 2002.  As reported by the Washington Post and others, Mr. Ray is now a full-time candidate for the U.S. Senate.[1]  Without the distractions of his government employment, Mr. Ray will now, no doubt, dedicate himself full time to his political campaign for the United States Senate – particularly in light of his April 8th filing deadline in New Jersey.

            Mr. Ray’s departure from the Office of Independent Counsel does not release him from his legal and ethical obligations.  He must be held accountable for his actions while Independent Counsel.  We believe Mr. Ray’s decisions to not bring prosecutions against Bill and Hillary Clinton were based, in part, on his own political ambitions.  This prosecutorial avoidance of politically difficult facts is reflected most recently in Mr. Ray’s March 6th report.

            Judicial Watch contends that Mr. Ray prematurely concluded his investigation and rushed the writing of his reports to ensure that his personal political timetable could be met, at the expense of uncovering the truth and fulfilling his duty.  This half-hearted, hurried effort played into the plans of Clinton White House and Justice Department attorneys whose long-term strategy has always been to stall and “run out the clock” concerning investigations of the Clinton Administration. See Exhibit 2 (Transcript of Testimony of Sheryl L. Hall on July 31, 2000 in Alexander, et al. v FBI., CA 96-2123, page 83-87). 

            Judicial Watch formally challenges Mr. Ray’s report because he has failed to completely and accurately detail the full truth concerning the matters under investigation.  The report contains false, inaccurate information.  He mischaracterizes and omits crucial information by using broad, general, vague, language concerning matters that require precision and specific, detailed reporting.

            As a specific example of Mr. Ray’s falsified reporting, we call your attention to the Final Report of the Independent Counsel (In re: Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Association, Div. No. 94-1 (D.C. Cir. [Spec. Div.] Jan. 16, 1998) (regarding Monica Lewinsky and others), Appendix D: The White House’s Non-Compliance With Subpoena Requests for Electronically Maintained Documents, Section B: The Independent Counsel Declined to Prosecute Allegations of Threats Made to Northrup Grumman Employees to Conceal the E-mail Problem, Paragraph 1, wherein the report states: “No witness reported that they were told to lie to investigators or felt they were prevented from reporting matters to the appropriate law enforcement officials.”  This statement is contrary to the sworn statements and testimony of at least two material witnesses caught up in the very midst of the e-mail controversy, Betty Lambuth (the Northrup Grumman Project Manager) and Robert Haas (who discovered the e-mail archival problems).  See Exhibit 3 (Declaration of Betty Lambuth, February 24, 2000), Exhibit 4 (Transcript of Testimony of Betty Lambuth on August 1, 2000 in Alexander, et al. v FBI., CA 96-2123, page 18-31), and Exhibit 5 (Transcript of Testimony of Robert Haas on August 14, 2000 in  Alexander, et al. v FBI., CA 96-2123, page 34-38).  Conveniently, neither Ms. Lambuth nor Mr. Haas is cited or quoted in Mr. Ray’s report.  [2]

In addition, Mr. Ray hastily concluded his investigation before reviewing over 1.8 million e-mail that several witnesses testified contained incriminating evidence against the Clintons and their administration.

            Judicial Watch will detail additional false, inaccurate and misleading statements in its official challenge to Mr. Ray’s reports to be filed shortly.

This supplement to our February 21st complaint reinforces and amplifies our call for a swift and complete investigation of Mr. Ray and his activities as Independent Counsel.

               Thank you for your prompt attention to this serious matter.
 
Sincerely,
 
JUDICIAL WATCH, INC.
 
 
 
 
Larry Klayman                                                                     Thomas Fitton
Chairman and General Counsel                                             President









CC:
Glenn Fine
Inspector General
U.S. Department of Justice
 
Office of the General Counsel
Federal Election Commission



H. Marshall Jarrett, Esq.
Office of Professional Responsibility
U.S. Department of Justice
 
Amy L. Comstock
Counsel

Office of Government Ethics
 
New Jersey Republican Party
 
Republican National Committee
 
Robert W. Ray, Esq.

[1] Al Kamen, “It’s Official,” Washington Post, March 13, 2002, p A27.

[2] The OIC’s Whitewater report, to be reportedly made public next week, is expected to contain further distortions of the e-mail scandal.  Judicial Watch will further challenge any new e-mail distortions raised in that report as well.