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The Ron Carey Campaign
Investigation New Subpoena Requests any Teamsters Documents Related to Democrats By Kevin Galvin WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal grand jury investigating Ron Carey's campaign for re-election as Teamsters president has turned its attention to the union's close relationship with the Democratic party. Last week, the jury subpoenaed from Teamster headquarters any records related to Democratic organizations and from the Democratic National Committee documents regarding the Teamsters, sources familiar with the requests said. The subpoenas followed news reports detailing documents that indicated officials of the party and the Teamsters may have considered cooperating to raise money for Democrats and for Carey's campaign. "We are cooperating with any and all investigations,'' DNC spokeswoman Amy Weiss Tobe said, "but we don't acknowledge receiving subpoenas from Justice or any other investigative entities.'' Reached at home during the weekend, Earl V. Brown Jr., the Teamsters' general counsel, would not discuss the subpoena or even confirm its existence. But on Friday, David Neigus, the union's deputy counsel, issued a memorandum informing Teamsters staff that the records had been requested and ordered a search of all files dealing with the Democratic National Committee or its affiliates. "In order to respond to this request, we will assemble all of the documents from 1996 and 1997 currently in the (Teamsters') possession regarding organizations affiliated with the Democratic party,'' Neigus wrote. The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, closed with an admonition to "not discuss these matters with anyone.'' The subpoena to the Teamsters covered the union's accounting office, general president's office and the legislative affairs department, Teamsters sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. At first, speculation in the hallways at union headquarters was that Capitol Hill investigators reviewing political fund raising wanted the documents. Congressional aides said neither Senate nor House panels examining fund raising had subpoenaed Teamsters records, leaving the grand jury sitting in New York as the apparent source of the request. Sources familiar with the probe, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that both subpoenas came from the grand jury investigating whether Carey's slim victory over James P. Hoffa in December's union election was tainted by illegal campaign funds. Under rules of the election, which was underwritten with $22 million in public funds, candidates were barred from using union funds or accepting donations from employers. The FBI has charged consultant Martin Davis with using his position as a vendor to both Carey's campaign and the Teamsters to exploit the union's general treasury and hide illegal donations to Carey. Until the 1990s, the Teamsters leadership tended to support Republicans. But with Carey's first election in 1991, when he ran on a pledge to clean up union corruption, he brought with him many activists from labor's liberal wing. The union became an integral part of the labor movement's support for Democrats. Last week, a 1996 letter to Davis from the Democratic committee surfaced. It requested almost $1 million in specified donations from the union to state party treasuries. A separate note from Davis to the Teamsters linked the donations to unspecified commitments by the DNC. The Teamsters and the DNC said the alleged scheme was wishful thinking on Davis' part with no quid-pro-quo between the union and the party to benefit Carey's campaign. According to Neigus' memo, the Teamsters have until Monday afternoon
to comply with the subpoena.
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