The Buddhist Temple Event: Papers On The Trail

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Sep. 3) -- The Gore documents released by the White House on the April 1996 Buddhist temple campaign event don't contain a smoking gun. But if the vice president was unaware it was a fund-raiser, then either he or his staff were not paying much attention.

The stack of papers released Tuesday measured an inch and a half thick, but most of the documents had been released previously, were copies of news accounts, or were transcripts of the Senate fund-raising hearings held in July.

'Fundraisers' on the schedule

The most interesting document may be a March 15, 1996, exchange between Gore and his assistant, Kimberly Tilley, where he indicates that because two fund-raisers are scheduled for April 29, 1996, an invitation to New York should be declined.

Memo from John Huang

On April 11, 1996, Democratic fund-raiser John Huang informed Kim Tilley about the event in a memo, "Fundraising lunch for Vice President Gore 6/29/96 in Southern California."

Managing the details

In a April 24, 1996, White House Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs John Emerson mentions "DNC funder for lunch; then to San Jose for TV workshop event and funder; red-eye home."

Targets set early

Two documents from Harold Ickes, previously released, show a listing of fund-raising events and their financial targets. One of them lists an April 29, 1996, event in Los Angeles targeting $250,000, while the other lists the same information with a target of $325,000.

Comparing how two events were handled

Two fund-raising events were held April 29, 1996, the first at the Hsi Lai temple in suburban Los Angeles and a second near San Jose, Calif. The briefing memos (I, II & III) prepared by the Democratic National Committee to the Office of the Vice President bear a striking resemblance to each other, except for one notable exception. The San Jose memo (I & II) lists, under "Event Description," a target of $250,000, while the temple memo says nothing about a financial target.

In Other News:

Wednesday Sept. 3, 1997

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