Landow Not A Clinton Confidant
By Brooks Jackson
WASHINGTON (March 27) -- Democratic contributor Nathan Landow hasn't reached the celebrity status of presidential accuser Kathleen Willey. But the allegations Landow tried to get Willey to soft-pedal charges the president groped her just outside the Oval Office have put him on the public radar.
Who is Nathan Landow? Well, he is no Vernon Jordan, the president's close friend, golfing pal and trusted advisor.
"I think it is fair to say that he and the president haven't seen eye to eye on most public policy issues," says Gerald Evan, a friend of Landow.
"He wasn't considered a Clinton person, although he obviously supported him in '92," said Mark Siegel, a former Maryland Democratic National Committee supporter.
Landow grew rich developing Washington-area real estate, and he has been a major Democratic money-man for more than 20 years. When the party wanted a headquarters building, Landow was the developer.
"It was just natural to have him, who was a good pal, a good party supporter and a very confident developer, help us with the building," said former Democratic chairman Charles Manatt.
Landow raised money for Walter Mondale in 1984, and was chief money-man for Al Gore's presidential bid in 1988. He remains close to the vice president to this day. But Bill Clinton was his third choice for president.
In 1991 Landow then headed IMPAC, a group of wealthy Democratic donors seeking greater clout in the party. Landow first backed Tom Harkin, and after he dropped out, Landow helped Paul Tsongas, Clinton's bitter rival.
By the time Clinton won the 1992 nomination, Landow, as Maryland party chairman, was backing him. But friends say bitterness lingered on both sides, and that Landow and Clinton have never been close.
Landow's closest connection to Clinton is son-in-law Michael Cardozo, who ran the now-defunct Clinton legal trust. He is married to Landow's daughter Harolyn, who worked with Willey as a White House volunteer in 1993.
Landow says he considers Willey a friend of the family, and did fly Willey to his estate on the eastern shore of Maryland for a two-day stay.
But Landow told CNN it was Willey, not anyone at the White House, who asked him to do that, and he denies trying to influence her testimony.
Landow's friends say he is the last person they would expect the president to turn to aid a coverup, given the strained political history between the two.
|