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With Violating Law on Contributions
By George Lardner Jr. Government officials and Glicken's Miami lawyer, Ed Shohat, said Glicken has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act cited in a criminal information filed in U.S. District Court here by the Justice Department's campaign finance task force. Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Glicken was accused in a case that stirred controversy earlier this year with the release of records showing that he had not been charged in the alleged solicitation of contributions from South Florida developer Thomas Kramer, a German citizen, even though Kramer had been fined $323,000 for breaking federal campaign laws in making the donations. Republicans seized on a section of a Federal Election Commission general counsel's report on the case suggesting that the FEC had not pursued Glicken in part because of his connections to Gore. "Because of Mr. Glicken's high profile as a prominent Democratic fund-raiser, including his potential fund-raising involvement in support of Gore's expected presidential campaign, it is unclear that this individual would agree to settle this matter short of litigation," FEC general counsel Lawrence Noble said in the report. Gore's counsel, Charles Burson, fired back with a sharply worded letter saying that he was "shocked at the gratuitous reference" to Glicken as a Gore supporter. Speaking for Gore, he said the FEC should pursue a case against any individual it had reasonable grounds to suspect "regardless of any speculative future roles" the individual might have. Defending his actions at a House hearing in March, Noble said that the FEC learned of Glicken's possible role less than a year before the five-year statute of limitations would make the case moot and that he has learned from experience that prominent fund-raisers are likely to battle such charges in court. Noble also said in a letter to Burson that he "shared your concerns about any implication that inappropriate consideration of Mr. Glicken's status as a supporter of Vice President Gore influenced the decision not to pursue the matter." He said the FEC's "commitment to openness results in some of the more delicate discussions reaching the public record." Gore spokesman Chris Lehane said yesterday that "Glicken has been a political friend and supporter of the vice president as well as many other Democrats. Vice President Gore regrets that Howard and his family face these difficulties. The vice president recognizes both the seriousness of the charges against Howard and the fact that Howard is taking responsibility for his actions." A Gore aide who asked that his name not be used said Glicken is "not involved in the vice president's political activity, and we do not foresee that he will be." Glicken did not respond to phone calls seeking his reaction. The charges against him deal with a $20,000 contribution he allegedly solicited from Kramer for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on April 28, 1993. Glicken, the charges state, then took part in an arrangement to have the contribution made in someone else's name. Kramer, who gave money to both Democrats and Republicans, has said in an affidavit that he donated the $20,000 through his secretary, Terri Bradley, a U.S. citizen.
The head of the Americas Group, a Miami company that does business in the United States and Latin America, Glicken supported Gore in his unsuccessful 1988 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and was a finance vice chairman for the Democratic National Committee during the 1996 campaign, reportedly raising $2 million for President Clinton, Gore and other Democrats. He has been on the Lincoln Bedroom guest list, attended fund-raising coffees with Gore and flown on Air Force One.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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