Posted on 09/23/2002 9:22:18 PM PDT by Politico2
Filed at 11:46 p.m. ET
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin's re-election campaign admitted Monday it somehow obtained a transcript from one of his Republican challenger's private strategy meetings -- and later leaked the document to a reporter.
Jeff Link, Harkin's campaign manager, apologized after earlier suggesting that GOP Rep. Greg Ganske might have leaked the material himself in a bid to tar Harkin.
The eight-page transcript is from a Sept. 3 meeting between Ganske and about two dozen supporters. Link denied that someone from the Harkin campaign had slipped into the meeting and taped it.
State Republican leaders called for a criminal investigation, saying the transcript was proof the meeting had been illegally recorded.
A statement issued by Link did not shed light on how the transcript was produced. It said that although no one in his campaign attended the meeting, ``the campaign was provided a copy of the remarks.''
Campaign aides gave the transcript to a reporter ``to independently verify the accuracy of the remarks,'' Link said.
``Sen. Harkin has indicated in the strongest possible terms that this was clearly unacceptable,'' Link said. ``As campaign manager I take full responsibility for it, and on behalf of the campaign I apologize to Congressman Ganske and his campaign.''
Ganske spokeswoman Ann Warren said the statement does not address key issues, including where the Harkin campaign obtained the transcript.
The transcript quotes Ganske as vowing to attack Harkin as never before, and to do it ``with a smile on my face.''
Ganske campaign manager Bill Armistead said the transcript was reviewed by some who attended the meeting at a downtown Des Moines hotel, and it ``convinced them that the meeting was taped.''
Harkin, who is seeking a fourth term, and Ganske, who was first elected to Congress in 1994, have been attacking each other in commercials since early summer. Most polls have shown Harkin with a lead of roughly 10 percentage points over Ganske.
Republican leaders and Ganske campaign officials released letters demanding that U.S. Attorney Steve Colloton and state Division of Criminal Investigation head Darwin Chapman investigate the source of the transcript.
``Clearly a very serious breach of privacy has occurred,'' state GOP Chairman Chuck Larson Jr. said. ``Someone was either wearing a wire in that room or the room was bugged.''
Larson said a probe is needed because state and federal law prohibit unauthorized taping of meetings. He said releasing the transcript would be illegal even if a participant had taped the meeting because the campaign had not authorized it.
Okay, just this one time. :D
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