Clinton Aides Deny Plans to Sue Over Texas Caucus Process

AUSTIN, Texas _ Barack Obama’s presidential campaign said Friday that Hillary Clinton, fearing a defeat in Texas, is trying to undermine confidence in the voting process by raising the specter of a chaotic and legally questionable election on Tuesday.

Clinton aides shot back that Obama was “fanning the distortion” of their legitimate concerns about the state’s two-step voting process, which entails both a primary election and a little understood caucus or “precinct convention.”

Clinton’s top Texas adviser, Garry Mauro, repeated the campaign’s assertion that Clinton had no intention of suing the party over its caucus rules. That scenario had been raised in a sternly worded letter _ warning of an “imminent” lawsuit _ made public by the Texas Democratic Party this week.

“Nobody ever raised the idea of suing,” said Mauro, blaming the flap on the Obama campaign. “When they feel a race is close they distort.”

Mauro acknowledged that the Clinton campaign had raised objections about the way caucus results will be reported Tuesday night but said she is not trying to stop the party from doing it. The Obama campaign, meanwhile, accused Clinton aides of trying to undermine confidence in the Texas election process, questioning in particular a new reporting system designed to give unofficial results from the caucuses, which are held after polls close Tuesday night. There are 67 delegates up for grabs in the caucuses.

“I think they’re afraid of what the caucus results might be,” said Obama campaign strategist Steve Hildebrand. “This is the game they play on the eve of every election . . . they like to suggest that the process is unfair to her.”

The notion of a Clinton challenge to the caucus procedures came up during conferences calls among the campaigns and the Texas Democratic Party, officials said. Concerned that a lawsuit was in the works, Democratic Party lawyer Chad Dunn fired off a letter to both campaigns.

“It has been brought to my attention that one or both of your campaigns may already be planning or intending to pursue litigation against the Texas Democratic Party,” Dunn wrote in the letter obtained by the Star-Telegram. “Such action could prove to be a tragedy for a reinvigorated Democratic process.”

Party officials told the Star-Telegram that the threats were coming from the Clinton campaign. After the letter was made public, Clinton political director Guy Cecil told The Associated Press he wanted the procedures put in writing and held out the prospect of an eventual challenge, without specifying what form it might take. “We want to see the results in writing, and we reserve the right to challenge something if we don’t believe it reflects something that was discussed on the call,” he told the AP.

The Obama campaign said Cecil’s comments and the complaints expressed during talks with the state party fall into a familiar pattern of pre-election gripes about the voting procedures and rules.

“They’re raising the specter of being able to challenge, legally or otherwise, any aspect of the caucus contest here,” Hildebrand, the Obama strategist, told reporters. He said the Obama campaign, which has won 11 of the last 13 caucuses, felt good about his chances in the Texas caucus. “We expect to play by those rules that have been set by the Texas Democratic Party,” he said. “We have stated no intention to challenge any aspect of it.”

State Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, leader of the Democrats in the state House of Representatives, accused the Clinton campaign of trying to “stoke fears or promote cynicism” by raising questions about a process that has been a feature of the presidential nomination process in Texas for decades.

“If you’re losing at half time, you don’t try to unplug the scoreboard,” Dunnam said.

The law requires the caucus results to be reported within three days, but the intense interest in the results prompted the Texas Democratic Party to invest $60,000 in a voluntary reporting system so that the media and public would have an idea about how the caucus tallies were breaking.

Obama officials see no problem with it. But Mauro, the Texas Clinton adviser, said the system would produce “flimsy, half-baked results.” Still, Mauro said there were no plans to challenge the legality of the voluntary reporting system.

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