California Democrat Backs Off Threat
Suggested digging up dirt about House Judiciary
Committee Republicans
By Wolf Blitzer/CNN
WASHINGTON (April 13) -- A top California Democratic party official says he
is backing off his threat to dig up dirt on Republican members of the House
Judiciary Committee if they move forward with impeachment hearings against
President Bill Clinton.
Bob Mulholland released a statement saying his threat had worked. "I have
achieved my goal of bringing the focus back to the middle," he said. "I will not
pursue checking out the Republicans. I will leave that to the media and local
voters."
In explaining why he had made the threat, Mulholland said he had learned in
Vietnam that "if someone is shooting at you, you shoot back."
He backed off following a phone call and letter from Democratic National
Committee national chairman Steve Grossman, urging him to drop the matter.
"I do not believe efforts of this kind advance the goals of our party,"
Grossman wrote in the letter. "Consequently, I respectfully request that you
refrain from the activities described in recent news accounts. The Democratic
National Committee neither condones nor supports this type of activity."
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