Clinton 'rented out Lincoln bed'. And Bush?

"PRESIDENT Clinton faced mounting pressure last night for an investigation into claims that he had offered nights in the Lincoln bedroom at the White House to supporters who had made large donations to his election campaign.

He stands accused of offering the most exclusive bed and breakfast deal in the United States. The list of people who enjoyed a night in the room where President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation freeing America's slaves, includes Hollywood stars such as Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Republicans were calling last night on Janet Reno, the US Attorney General, to appoint an independent investigator to examine the claims. Roy Schotland, a law professor, said it was illegal to use the White House for "other than government purposes". He added: "The first law the President violated was Jimmy Durante's law, 'Say it with roses, say it with mink, but never, ever, say it with ink'. "

Richard Nixon, who once prayed with Henry Kissinger in the adjacent sitting room, offered it to Bob Hope and his wife, Dolores. But that was before the fat cats of Democratic politics were needed. Memos released by the Oval Office after five months of stalling, show that the room was virtually rented out by the President to anybody with $50,000 or $100,000 to spare to help his re-election.

The documents reveal that the lure was a top priority to counter the huge funds being amassed by the Republicans to win back the White House. After his congressional Democrats were hammered by the forces of Newt Gingrich, Mr Clinton approved a plan whereby high-rolling donors were rewarded. There were dinners, golf outings and morning jogs with him, along with a night in the suite where Sir Winston Churchill once took a bubble bath while smoking a cigar during a wartime visit.

The idea, according to Terence McAuliffe, then Democratic finance chairman, was to create "an excellent way to energise our key people" for the campaign. In a scrawled note, Mr Clinton said: "Ready to start overnight right away." He asked for the "top 10" list of donors, along with those paying $100,000 or $50,000.

His instructions had a powerful effect on the Democratic coffers. A list of 938 guests that have stayed in the bedroom showed that more than one in three donated money to the leader or the Democratic National Committee. They chipped in at least $6 million (£3.7 million).

Generous Americans sleeping in the bed, with its ornate headboard, included Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg and Lew Wasserman, who gave $300,000 and $335,000 to the Democrats. The record producer David Geffen donated $200,000 and raised $1 million.

Other guests included singer Judy Collins, actors Tom Hanks, Candice Bergen, Richard Dreyfuss, Chevy Chase, Barbra Streisand, opera diva Kathleen Battle, and the CNN tycoon Ted Turner and his wife, Jane Fonda. In the days of Lincoln, there was a fuss about the cost of the bed. Lincoln said to his wife, Mary: "This will stink in the nostrils of the American people. Our soldiers need blankets."

Now, Americans, looking at the guest list, must be wondering what is going on, as the donors regarded as prime "sleepover" prospects included the head of a union suspected of Mafia ties.

It is also emerging that tax-payers paid the bill for the "extras" given to guests, from bathrobes embroidered "executive residence" to room-service ham and eggs. "

Inside Bush's West Wing
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 11, 2004

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush played host to dozens of overnight guests at the White House and Camp David last year, from world leaders to some of his most loyal supporters, including friends who double as campaign fund-raisers.

Bush and first lady Laura Bush have invited at least 270 people to stay at the White House and at least the same number to overnight at the Camp David retreat since coming to Washington in January 2001, according to lists the White House provided The Associated Press.

Elton Bomer, a lobbyist, Bush donor and former Democratic lawmaker who served in then-Texas Gov. Bush's administration, said his stay in the White House was like visiting friends in a "a very nice home."

"The mattresses are very, very nice, and the pillows are very nice," said Bomer, who visited in October, 2002, with about 18 other Texans. "It's not ostentatious at all."

Some Bush guests stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom, a historic room that gained fame in the Clinton administration amid allegations that Democrats were rewarding big donors with accommodations there. Bush's criticism of the Clinton fund-raising scandal is one of the reasons the White House identifies guests.

At least nine of Bush's biggest fund-raisers appear on the latest list of White House overnight guests, covering June 2002 through December 2003 and/or on the Camp David list, which covers last year. They include:

Mercer Reynolds, an Ohio financier, former Bush partner in the Texas Rangers baseball team and former ambassador to Switzerland. Reynolds is leading Bush's campaign fund-raising effort.

Brad Freeman, a venture capitalist who is leading Bush's California fund-raising effort, has raised at least $200,000 for his re-election campaign and is a major Republican Party fund-raiser.

Roland Betts, who raised at least $100,000 for Bush in 2000, was a Bush fraternity brother at Yale and Texas Rangers partner.

William DeWitt is a Bush partner in the oil business and Texas Rangers who has raised at least $200,000 for Bush's re-election effort.

James Francis, who headed the Bush campaign's 2000 team of $100,000-and-up volunteer fund-raisers and was a Bush appointee in Texas when Bush was governor.

Joseph O'Neill, an oilman and childhood friend who introduced Bush to Laura Bush, raised at least $100,000 for each of Bush's presidential campaigns.

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens and New York Gov. George Pataki each raised at least $200,000 for Bush's re-election campaign.

James Langdon, who raised at least $100,000 for Bush, is a Washington attorney. He is a member of Bush's foreign intelligence advisory board and served on Bush's 2000 presidential transition team on energy policy.

"Some of these guests are old classmates, some of them have been friends of theirs for many, many years," White House spokeswoman Erin Healy said. "They enjoy the opportunity to spend time with them."

Pataki stayed at Camp David for a three-night weekend in April 2002, said Lisa Dewald Stoll, a Pataki spokeswoman. He has also stayed at the White House every February for the past three years for the Republican Governors Association and National Governors Association meetings. In years past he stayed for one night, but this year he was there for two nights, Stoll said.

In December Pataki stayed at the White House for a Christmas party, Stoll said.