Gore's fear of frying

WASHINGTON -- He was loaded for bear. But the bear never came.

After it was revealed in 1998 that Vice President Al Gore had dialed
for dollars from the White House during the 1996 campaign cycle, Gore
trotted out his "no controlling legal authority" defense.

It was quickly satirized by most legal pundits, including former
federal prosecutors. And the outcry pressured the Justice Department to
review the case to see if it was serious enough to turn over to an
independent counsel.

Gore retained Nashville, Tenn., lawyer James Neal and racked up more
than $15,000 in legal bills that year.

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Unknown to the public was that Charles LaBella, head of Justice's
campaign-finance task force at the time, had urged Attorney General
Janet Reno in a 1998 memo to investigate Gore. LaBella said his conduct
during the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign "warranted" a probe by an outside
prosecutor.

But Reno ignored her lead prosecutor and bought Gore's "no
controlling legal authority" defense. She dropped any further inquiry.

Nevertheless, Gore apparently had been expecting to be the target of
a full-blown criminal probe.

In 1998, he went to the Citizens Bank in Carthage, Tenn., and took
out a personal line of credit worth between $101,000 and $250,000,
according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission last
year.

As of Monday, his latest financial disclosure, Gore still maintained
the line of credit, records show. (Though Gore listed the interest rates
on his two home loans, he left the interest-rate box next to the credit
line blank.)

According to the White House, task-force prosecutors earlier this
month told Gore he's still not a criminal target.

They nonetheless interviewed him again on April 18. And for the first
time, investigators asked him questions about his involvement in the
illegal Buddhist temple fund-raiser in 1996.

Gore reportedly was surprised at the renewed interest in him and lost
his cool. The interview ended in a shouting match between Gore and
agents, published reports say.

Neal represented Gore at the interview.

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It's not clear if Gore will have to draw on his sizable bank credit
line any time soon.