Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2006 | 7:11 a.m.
The FBI decided not to pursue an investigation into allegations that Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., made illegal fundraising calls from his government offices without talking to the main accuser, the former Porter aide who lodged the charges said Tuesday.
However, Jim Shepard, who worked as Porter's executive assistant and scheduler from March to June, said he has taken steps to try to initiate a House Ethics Committee investigation into his allegations.
Shepard said he hopes that the House panel thoroughly probes his allegations after neither the FBI nor the Justice Department contacted him before the department announced Monday that it would not open a formal investigation.
"As far as we are concerned there has been no investigation at all," Shepard said. "My observation so far is that it's been like a game of hot potato - everyone has just passed the ball."
Last month the Sun published Shepard's allegations that the Republican congressman made dozens of campaign phone calls in April and June from his Henderson and Washington, D.C., congressional offices.
Federal law and House ethics rules prohibit lawmakers from making fundraising calls from federal buildings, even if the calls are paid for by a campaign.
Porter has denied the charges.
After Shepard's allegations surfaced, Nevada Democratic Party Chairman Tom Collins asked the U.S. attorney's office in Las Vegas to investigate. U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden referred Collins' complaint to the FBI. The bureau then referred the case to the Justice Department, which decided not to pursue the case.
"I can confirm that the investigation was referred to us by the FBI and declined," said Bryan Sierra, spokesman for the Justice Department. "I really can't comment any further."
Legal experts say the department's decision is not uncommon. Although federal law makes it clear that the kind of calls Shepard claims he observed Porter making are illegal, those charged with investigating such charges seem to regard them as the political equivalent of jaywalking.
"There have been no prosecutions under this provision," said Jan Witold Baran, a Washington, D.C., attorney and former general counsel for the Republican National Committee.
"The Department of Justice doesn't devote its limited resources to something that is relatively very minor and that is unlikely to occur again. Whatever Congressman Porter did, I am sure he isn't going to do this again."
The last high-profile look that illegal fundraising calls got from federal authorities was in 1997, when then-Vice President Al Gore became embroiled in a controversy surrounding dozens of calls that he made from his White House office.
In that case, then-Attorney General Janet Reno cleared Gore in a controversial decision, ruling that the law did not apply because the calls were made from residential parts of the White House, did not involve specific solicitations or did not actually raise campaign money.
However, the ethical questions surrounding Gore's fundraising practices and those of President Bill Clinton and the Democratic National Committee set in motion campaign finance reforms that helped strengthen the ban on soliciting political contributions from federal offices.
The Justice Department's decision Monday, however, is an indication that despite reforms, investigating and prosecuting such campaign violations remain a low priority for federal authorities.
Justice Department officials' refusal to explain why they decided not to pursue the case leaves it unclear to what extent, if at all, the FBI or Justice investigated the allegations.
Porter spokesman Trevor Kolego said the FBI spoke with Porter about the allegations, but as far as he knew, Porter's office provided no documents to the FBI.
Porter refused to return phone calls from the Sun. But he told other media that Steve Martinez, the FBI special agent in charge of the Las Vegas office, notified him Nov. 9 that the bureau would not pursue the case.
Kolego said he did not know the content of the conversation between Porter and investigators.
Kolego would not comment on whether other Porter staffers or campaign workers - who Shepard says knew about the fundraising calls - were interviewed by agents.
"That's a question for the FBI," he said. "As the congressman has maintained all along, he did nothing improper."
Shepard, however, said he does not believe authorities contacted any of the campaign and congressional staffers .
"As far as I can tell, there has been zero investigation," he said.
The Justice Department's decision left local Democrats feeling shortchanged, said Kirsten Searer, spokeswoman for the Nevada Democratic Party.
"Given the serious nature of these allegations, and the fact that Mr. Shepard produced documentation to back up his story, it's too bad that no government agency will look into this further," she said.
Collins said: "You have to look at who hires these guys."
E-mails obtained by the Sun showed Shepard and Porter's campaign staff conversing about fundraising phone calls before President Bush's April 24 fundraising visit for Porter. Porter did not want to make the 30- to 45-minute drive to his campaign office because it would cut down on the time he could be making calls, Shepard said.
Although some of the e-mails included Porter's chief of staff, Mike Hesse, as a recipient, Hesse has said he does not remember them and could not locate them in House archives.
Porter has said he would welcome an investigation. Before the Nov. 7 election, he produced copies of his phone records and daily schedule that contradicted some of Shepard's charges, although Porter conceded the records did not disprove the allegations.
New e-mails obtained by the Sun suggest that Porter also made fundraising phone calls from his government office in May.
In an e-mail time-stamped 9:32 a.m. on May 31, Mary Mai, then a fundraiser with Porter's campaign, asked Shepard: "Do we still have call time with jp today? If so, where?"
Shepard responded at 9:34 a.m.: "Yes. 10:00 at the District office."
At 1:47 p.m., Mai e-mailed Shepard : "Have they started?"
Shepard replied at 1:50 p.m.: "Yes."
Although Shepard said neither the FBI nor the Justice Department contacted him, he refused to say what information he had shared, if any, with the U.S. attorney's office.
"I'm not going to get into that right now," he said Tuesday.
Hoping that another government body will do what the FBI and Justice Department would not, Shepard said Tuesday he plans to file a complaint with the House ethics committee.
According to House ethics rules, there are a number of ways for an inquiry to begin.
A member of Congress must certify in writing that he or she believes a complaint filed with the committee by an outsider was done so in good faith and warrants the committee's consideration.
Shepard said a member of Congress has agreed to certify his complaint, but he refused to say who.
An ethics committee inquiry also can begin with a vote of the House, with a complaint filed directly by a House member or with the formation of an investigative subcommittee by the ethics committee. The chairman and ranking minority member of the ethics committee also can initiate their own inquiries.
Those rules could change, however, when Democrats take over as the majority party in January.
Rep. Shelley Berkley, Nevada's sole Democrat in the House, said through a spokesman that she does not intend to pursue an ethics complaint.
Kolego, Porter's spokesman, would not confirm whether the committee has already looked into the alleged phone calls.
As for the chances of the Ethics Committee doing something about the allegations, Baran said it's a long shot.
Ethics "is one of the few areas where they are all bipartisan," he said.
archive
