Gore Ally Gets Mystery Package

A confidant of Al Gore received an unsolicited package Wednesday containing documents and a videotape that appeared to describe rival George W. Bush's debate preparations, an aide to Gore said.

Tom Downey, a former congressman who has been helping the vice president prepare for debates against Bush, turned the material over to his lawyer. The attorney gave the package to the FBI to determine whether the documents and tape were "illegally obtained from the Bush campaign," said Gore spokesman Mark Fabiani.

Fabiani said Gore's staff did not know for certain whether the package was a hoax or actual Bush campaign material.

Downey, however, has told associates he is convinced the material is legitimate, in part because he saw Bush in what appeared to be a mock debate with Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., who is serving as Gore's stand-in during Bush debate sessions, according to two Democratic lawyers who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The package came with a postmark from Austin, Texas, home of Bush's headquarters. The return address included a sender's name but Downey did not recognize it, his attorney said.

"Using these materials was never an option," said Downey.

"We got something we shouldn't have and turned it over to the authorities," said Marc Miller, Downey's attorney.

Because of the controversy, Downey announced he is ending his involvement in the vice president's debate preparations.

"In order to ensure the integrity of the debate process, I have decided to no longer participate in the vice president's preparation for the upcoming presidential debates," Downey said in a statement.

He called the decision "an easy one to make. Using these materials was never an option. To do so would dishonor a great American tradition of open and honest debates."

Gore chairman William Daley called Bush chairman Don Evans to notify him about the package.

Bush communications director Karen Hughes said the campaign is not conducting an internal investigation because people who had "legitimate access" to the tapes were very few. "So obviously we don't feel that ... they came from our staff," Hughes said.

Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "We do not know what the Gore campaign claims to have in their possession and we would like to review the material and our attorneys are in the process of asking to review it."

Miller said he received a call from Bush lawyer Ben Ginsburg asking to review the package. Miller rejected the request. "We decided we don't know what it was. The FBI is in a better position to determine what should be done about this," he said.

Fabiani disclosed the development to The Associated Press and provided a chronology of events that said:

A package arrived by mail at Downey's office in Washington at 10:28 a.m. EDT Wednesday.

He opened the package, which contained a videotape and documents that appeare to relate to the Bush campaign. He played the tape briefly, Miller later said for a few seconds, "which confirmed to Mr. Downey that the materials appeared to relate to Governor Bush's debate preparations."

Downey notified Miller, who took possession of the documents and called the FBI. Miller later said two FBI agents picked up the package from his office.

A senior Bush adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the campaign does have videotapes of Gore's past debates, Bush's past debates and Bush's debate preparation sessions.

There are also internal documents that detail potential strategies against Gore, said the official, who added that it is inconceivable that the information was leaked to a Gore partisan. Another official said Bush's team expected the FBI to ask the campaign to authenticate the package.

The situation was somewhat reminiscent of a case in which debate documents from President Carter's 1980 re-election campaign turned up later in the files of Republican challenger Ronald Reagan. That was never fully explained, despite an FBI investigation.