Democratic Party Hires Law Firm on Fundraising

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - The Democratic National Committee said it had hired the law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton to help handle legal matters related to a series of improper campaign contributions accepted by the party.

DNC Chairman Don Fowler said the decision marked the continuation of the Democratic Party's efforts to improve its accountability for campaign contributions.

Fowler two weeks ago announced a new internal compliance process to review all contributions over a certain level.

Questions about Democratic fundraising were an issue in the closing weeks of the presidential campaign and some analysts believe the controversy reduced President Clinton's margin of victory over Republican Bob Dole.

Fowler, in a statement released late Tuesday, said the law firm would help the party comply with appropriate laws and regulations, preserve and produce relevant documents, and prepare timely and complete responses to inquiries from applicable agencies.

The law firm had also retained the accounting firm of Ernst & Young to help review "any and all questionable contributions for which we do not have sufficient information," Fowler said.

The accounting firm would also study the new compliance system unveiled two weeks agao and make any recommendations on how to further improve it.

"The scope of the review will be broad. It will ensure that we are thorough and accurate in our efforts," Fowler said.

The DNC returned more than $762,000 in contributions received this past year, including $$250,000 from a South Korean company, and $325,000 from a man identified as Yogesh Gandhi, because they could not identify the source of his funds.