Legal Defense Fund

WASHINGTON -- Contributions to President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton's legal defense fund have plunged in the past six months, even as the couple's personal legal bills have been driven higher by the Whitewater hearings in Congress, trustees of the fund have reported.Contributions dropped from $602,000 in the second half of 1994 to about $258,000 for the first half of 1995, and the number of contributions fell from 5,965 to 1,158.Mike McCurry, the White House press secretary, acknowledged that Mr. Clinton is as "concerned as anyone would be facing that kind of bill and obviously not having the wherewithal to pay that bill."

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's legal bills, racked up during a years-long corruption probe that has led her to enlist seven criminal defense attorneys for a theft trial next week, could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, legal observers say. Yet city residents have no idea how their elected leader plans to pay. Dixon's chief attorneys, Arnold M. Weiner and Dale P. Kelberman, have consistently declined to explain whether they are working...

WASHINGTON -- One of two landmark civil rights organizations still to take stands on the confirmation of Judge Clarence Thomas for a Supreme Court seat flatly rejected him yesterday, but the other was considering taking a wait-and-see position until after Senate confirmation hearings.Announcing its strong opposition to Judge Thomas was the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund -- an organization separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that was created in 1940 with Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, then a civil rights lawyer, as its first director-counsel.

Judge John G. Roberts Jr. has been "hostile" to civil rights and, if confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, would move to undo decades of hard-fought civil rights gains, according to a report released yesterday from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In an analysis of documents from the National Archives and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the report concludes that Roberts helped shape the Reagan administration's anti-civil rights policies concerning voting, affirmative action, housing and employment.

WASHINGTON -- Much like his public approval ratings, contributions to President Clinton's legal defense fund increased last year, yielding more than $4.5 million for his and his wife's mounting legal bills.In releasing results of their direct-mail appeal on behalf of the president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, trustees of the Clinton Legal Expense Trust said yesterday that more than 50,000 Americans have made donations to defray their legal bills.The second half of the year was slightly more successful than the first, bringing in $2.3 million of the total.

In an article in yesterday's editions of The Sun, the Associated Press erroneously reported that Democratic fund-raiser Johnny Chung had tried to deliver more than $700,000 in donations to President Clinton's legal defense fund. Another fund-raiser, Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie, tried to deliver the money to the legal defense fund.The Sun regrets the error.Pub Date: 11/13/97

WASHINGTON -- You can blame disillusioned white men, or you can blame a shrinking Democratic base, but do not blame the creation of majority-black congressional districts for the midterm election debacle suffered by Democrats, says the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.In assessing the causes of the Republican electoral sweep, some analysts have suggested that the creation of majority-black congressional districts, especially in the South, was a significant factor in the Democratic loss because it siphoned black voters from districts where black support had previously helped keep white Democrats in office.

Judge John G. Roberts Jr. has been "hostile" to civil rights and, if confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, would move to undo decades of hard-fought civil rights gains, according to a report released yesterday from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In an analysis of documents from the National Archives and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the report concludes that Roberts helped shape the Reagan administration's anti-civil rights policies concerning voting, affirmative action, housing and employment.

State Del. Tony E. Fulton, acquitted of federal corruption charges in July, is getting help paying what his supporters say are "overwhelming" legal bills. The Tony Fulton Legal Defense Fund Committee recently sent letters to community supporters, businesspeople and other legislators, seeking contributions. "While Tony's strong legal defense team was triumphant, victory did not come without a considerable price," the letter reads. "Let's show Tony our loyalty, friendship, and support when he needs it the most."

WASHINGTON - Thirteen Republican members of Congress have asked Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to withdraw from all future cases having to do with abortion because of her affiliation with the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. The House lawmakers said in a letter to the liberal justice yesterday that they were concerned about her lending her name and presence to the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Distinguished Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the defense fund, because the fund often files legal briefs in cases before the Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON - As the House ethics committee moved toward an expected investigation of Majority Leader Tom DeLay, two of the panel's GOP members recused themselves yesterday from a probe of the Texas Republican because they contributed to his legal defense fund. The panel members took the step as two House Democrats proposed tougher rules governing congressional travel and lobbying, a measure inspired by the controversy over the funding of trips taken by DeLay. Three House Republicans, meanwhile, sought to shift the spotlight from DeLay by pointing to questions about who paid for travels by some Democrats.

WASHINGTON - Thirteen Republican members of Congress have asked Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to withdraw from all future cases having to do with abortion because of her affiliation with the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. The House lawmakers said in a letter to the liberal justice yesterday that they were concerned about her lending her name and presence to the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Distinguished Lecture Series, co-sponsored by the defense fund, because the fund often files legal briefs in cases before the Supreme Court.

Who won and who lost in the Terrell Owens settlement: Winners: Owens: Call him a big baby, but, in the end, he held his breath and turned green - Eagles green. Eagles: Would their new go-to receiver dare complain when Donovan McNabb makes some of his scatter-armed throws? 49ers: The club gets veteran defensive lineman Brandon Whiting, whose stats from last season show 31 tackles, two sacks and zero pompoms. Losers: Ravens: With no upgrade at receiver, their best move might be a big contribution to the Jamal Lewis Legal Defense Fund.

A legal defense fund has been established to defray the growing legal expenses of three people charged by the state prosecutor with violating Maryland election laws by recruiting Election Day workers for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. Wayne M. Clarke, who has not been charged but worked as a Prince George's County coordinator for the Ehrlich campaign, said in an interview that the fund was set up to defray the costs incurred by the three. Shirley R. Brookins, 56, head of a Washington employment agency; Rashida Hogg, 23, of Silver Spring; and Steven P. Martin, 31, of Capitol Heights were charged with violating a state law that bars paying workers to hand out Election Day literature.

Two businessmen indicted on first-degree murder charges in the shooting of an intruder in their East Baltimore warehouse are hoping to draw national attention to their case, and have started a Web site advertising a legal defense fund with the slogan: "Help Those Who Defended Themselves." The Web site, which features a picture of a bald eagle in profile against the backdrop of an American flag, seeks money for Kenny Der and Darrell Kifer of Harford County, who shot Tygon Walker, 37, the night of June 30. The patriotic imagery - inspired by a poster commemorating the World Trade Center attacks, according to the site's designer - is in keeping with themes that have surfaced since the indictment.

State Del. Tony E. Fulton, acquitted of federal corruption charges in July, is getting help paying what his supporters say are "overwhelming" legal bills. The Tony Fulton Legal Defense Fund Committee recently sent letters to community supporters, businesspeople and other legislators, seeking contributions. "While Tony's strong legal defense team was triumphant, victory did not come without a considerable price," the letter reads. "Let's show Tony our loyalty, friendship, and support when he needs it the most."

The group raising money to defend state Sen. Larry Young against ethical and possible criminal charges has itself entered a murky area where almost any involvement by Young -- even greeting guests at a fund-raiser -- could spark a new inquiry.Legal defense funds for legislators are rare but permissible under state ethics law. But Young's involvement -- if any -- in raising money for his defense fund could violate the prohibition against public officials soliciting gifts.That rule makes legal defense funds ethically treacherous, a problem that underscores how difficult it can be for public officials accused of wrongdoing to pay their legal bills -- Young's are expected to reach $65,000 -- without courting new troubles.

WASHINGTON -- If Bill Clinton were a quarterback and Bob Dole a linebacker, you'd have to say the president got sacked by the Senate majority leader the other night when he advised Congress in his State of the Union address to "just stop taking the lobbyist perks."Dole immediately called "a cheap shot" the president's pitch for a voluntary congressional withdrawal from the lobbyist trough. The Senate Republican blitzed Clinton by observing that "when we have lobbyists contributing to the president's legal defense fund, I think he'd be a little careful about bringing that up."

A fund-raiser for former state Sen. Larry Young's legal defense fund will be held tomorrow from 3 to 5 p.m. at New Shiloh Baptist Church, 2100 N. Monroe St. Young will be tried this spring on charges that he extorted money from the owner of a health care company that was seeking a multimillion-dollar state contract. He was also charged by an Anne Arundel County grand jury with filing a false tax return. Now a morning talk show host on radio station WOLB, Young, a West Baltimore Democrat, was ousted from the state Senate on ethics charges early last year.