Miller asks for special prosecutor in Culver campaign probe

By James Q. Lynch

UPDATED: Attorney General Tom Miller has decided to ask a special prosecutor to look into allegations of improper contributions to Gov. Chet Culver's re-election campaign from Fort Dodge casino interests.

Although he concluded his office “has no actual conflict of interest … I have also concluded there is an appearance of a conflict of interest in this matter that is sufficient to lead me to seek a special prosecutor for this action,” Miller said in a statement released this afternoon.

He's asking the Executive Council -- Culver, Secretary of State Michael Mauro, Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald, Auditor David Vaudt and Secretary of Ag Bill Northey -- to appoint Des Moines attorney Larry Scalise to prosecute the allegations that Fort Dodge casino backers passed money through a third party to the Culver campaign.

“This was not an easy decision,” Miller said. “My office has very rarely withdrawn from a case in this manner. However, I believe the need for public confidence in the criminal justice process outweighs any other consideration.

“The public has the right to a criminal prosecution that is not subject to any unnecessary suspicion about its impartiality or objectivity,” he said.

In a separate statement, Culver said he hoped it will “help to move the investigative process forward in a timely and orderly way and bring any and all pending legal matters to a firm resolution.”

At the same time, Culver denied any wrongdoing.

“Neither the governor's office nor the Culver-Judge campaign has any reason to believe that anyone with either organization is a target in the investigation,” he said. “Both the governor's office and the campaign office have fully cooperated with the investigators at my direction.

 “In Iowa, every candidate for public office expects that contributions to their campaigns will be lawfully made -- and that any violations of those laws will not be tolerated,” Culver said.

The state Division of Criminal Investigation is probing donations from three Fort Dodge businessmen who reportedly gave $25,000 to the Culver campaign last November and December after they had received $25,000 themselves from Peninsula Gaming. The company and businessmen are partners in an effort to get a casino license in Fort Dodge.

Culver, who publicly advised the Racing and Gaming Commission to issue licenses for casinos in Fort Dodge and three other communities, has denied any impropriety in regard to the contribution.

The donations to Culver's campaign raised questions about whether they were funneled from the casino company through the businessmen. It's illegal to make contributions from somebody else in your own name or to knowingly receive those donations. The company has denied any wrongdoing. The businessmen said the payments to them were for expenses related to the license application.

Miller called Scalise “exceptionally well qualified” for the appointment. A former Assistant Polk County Attorney, Scalise also served as the director of the law Enforcement Division of the Liquor Control Commission and Iowa attorney general, first chairman of the Racing and Gaming Commission and was vice chairman of the Iowa Campaign Finance Disclosure Commission.

He served as an independent counsel for the federal government in the case of former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros.