GORE FUMES AT FEDS' FUNDING QUERIES

By BRIAN BLOMQUIST

WASHINGTON - Vice President Al Gore blew his top when he was grilled last week by funny-money investigators - because they asked about his illegal Buddhist temple fund-raiser for the first time, sources say.

Gore seemed stunned that investigators were asking about his controversial 1996 fund-raiser now and fumed that the questions were "outrageous," said a source familiar with the probe.

The "contentious" session ended in a yelling match between Gore and federal investigators, the source added.

New attention to the Democratic fund-raiser at His Lai temple in Hacienda Heights, Calif., couldn't come at a worse time for Gore, who is in a fierce battle against Republican George W. Bush in the presidential campaign.

Republicans have been threatening to use the embarrassing video of Gore at the temple with flowers draped around his neck, surrounded by nuns and monks in saffron robes.

Until last Tuesday, Gore had never been grilled about the $140,000 Democratic fund-raiser - and it is unclear why investigators from Attorney General Janet Reno's funny-money task force are focusing on it now.

President Clinton also got grilled by investigators about fund-raising abuses last Friday, and the White House chose later that day - Good Friday and three days after Gore's Q-and-A session - to reveal that both men had been questioned.

The White House also said both Clinton and Gore were told they're not criminal targets.

Neither White House spokesman Jim Kennedy nor Gore's private lawyer, James Neal of Tennessee, would comment on Gore's grilling.

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), April 28, 2000

Answers

Translation: How dare you investigate my criminal activities! I am the Vice President of the United States of America. I am ABOVE THE LAW!

-- J (Y2J@home.comm), April 28, 2000.

Let's just get it over and put a nigger in the Whitehouse.

-- Manny (No@dip.com), April 28, 2000.

I AM THE LAW!!!

- Judge Dredd

-- Yeah Right (Ahhhh@haaa.haaa.haaa), April 29, 2000.

It is only being done now because of the election. Don't you wonder why it was not done a year or three ago? Because it would be over by now. But bring it upnow, just like what was done when Clinton was running, just to place seeds of doubt in voters minds and sway the election.

Now if Bush jr would just answer the questions about his crack use, I could understand the questioning at this time.

What I do not understand is the fact that drug use is illegal and B-jr says "the past is the past-forget it" and that's ok with everyone, but Gore gets all of this coming at him just as it is getting closer to election time?

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), April 29, 2000.

Manny you're like a social disease. Please go away!

-- Citizen (Citizen@letsbe.respectable), April 29, 2000.