Jenrette’s account and letter is the first documentary evidence that Clinton made fund-raising phone calls from the White House. For months, Clinton had danced around the question of the calls, saying only that he didn’t ““specifically recall’’ if he had dialed for dollars. NEWSWEEK has learned the White House has turned up phone records showing that Clinton made at least a half-dozen calls to Democratic Party donors from the White House residence, including one to Jenrette on the day in question. Federal law prohibits the solicitation of cash from federal offices–but the Justice Department doesn’t consider the residence a federal office, a distinction that may allow Clinton to escape legal trouble.
Still, investigators for Fred Thompson’s Senate committee are furious. Jenrette’s letter specifically mentions Clinton’s ““request’’ for money. Yet the White House never turned the letter over to the panel despite subpoenas for all material related to fund raising. Says one Thompson staffer, ““This makes us wonder about how many more calls Clinton may have made.’’ Janet Reno will likely want some answers herself. Last week she extended a probe of Clinton’s phone calls another 60 days to determine whether she needs to appoint an independent counsel.
Unknown to the White House, FBI agents and Thompson staffers last week tracked down Jenrette, recently retired as chairman of The Equitable Companies, a New York financial conglomerate, at his home in South Carolina. The investigators spotted his name on an Oct. 18, 1994, memo that DNC finance director Terence McAuliffe sent to deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes. Entitled ““Election Project/Draft #5,’’ it identified Jenrette as ““an active supporter of the party’’ who has ““contributed $25K to the DNC this year.’’ That same day, Clinton called Jenrette at his office. He got right down to business, asking for Jenrette’s help for the upcoming congressional elections.
White House spokesman Lanny Davis says the White House can’t find a copy of Jenrette’s letter, and can’t explain why it wasn’t turned over to Senate investigators. Clinton’s lawyer David Kendall says the president doesn’t remember calling Jenrette, but says he has ““no reason to question Mr. Jenrette’s recollection.''
Jenrette, meanwhile, is amused at the fuss. ““I get calls all the time,’’ he said. In fact, in February 1996, Jenrette gave an additional $25,000 to the Democrats after receiving a phone request from Al Gore. The vice president has already admitted to making fund-raising calls from his office. Dialing for dollars was a quick and easy way to woo wealthy donors. ““When you get a call from the president,’’ Jenrette says, ““of course you do what you can.''
