VICE-President Al Gore has denied that he broke the law in his fund-raising efforts last year by making phone calls from the White House, but he has promised never to do it again.
Until now, the vice-president has distanced himself from the scandals surrounding the fund-raising methods of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for last year's election, resulting in the return of at least $3 million in illegal or questionable contributions. However, a report last weekend that he used his White House office to call donors is proving embarrassing.
Mr Gore made the calls in spite of a 1995 memo by a White House legal aide which stated that "campaign fund-raising activities of any kind are prohibited in or from government buildings". The memo to White House officials said that also, "no fund-raising phone calls or mail may emanate from the White House or any other federal building".
Mr Gore insisted that he had not broken federal law by making a number of fund-raising phone calls from his office. He said that they had been paid for with a DNC credit card. Mr Gore claimed the law which bans fund-raising from federal buildings did not apply to the president and the vice-president, but this interpretation is disputed by Republican opponents.
Mr Clinton, who has been bearing the brunt of the fund-raising allegations up to now over the use of the White House for entertaining big DNC supporters, yesterday defended Mr Gore. Mr Clinton said they both "had to work like crazy" to try and match the fund-raising by their wealthier Republican rivals.
The latest allegations concerning Mr Gore could cause him problems when he declares his intention to run for the presidency in 2000, as expected. So far he has maintained a reputation for integrity which was not seriously dented when it was revealed he attended a DNC fund-raiser last summer in a Buddhist temple in California.
The pressure from Republicans for an independent counsel to investigate the fund-raising practices in last year's election is being stepped up. So far the Attorney General, Ms Janet Reno, has refused to appoint an independent prosecutor.