DES MOINES, Iowa — U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin has replaced his campaign manager in a shake-up aimed at quelling controversy over the surreptitious taping of a strategy session held by a political rival earlier this month.
Harkin, a Democrat, said Friday he accepted campaign manager Jeff Link's offer to step down after Link took responsibility for not supervising campaign staffers closely enough.
The move came in response to allegations by Republicans that a man with ties to Harkin made a tape of a Sept. 3 meeting with GOP Rep. Greg Ganske and gave it to the senator's campaign.
At a packed news conference, Harkin said he had gotten the results of an investigation conducted by lawyer David Wiggins, whom he hired to look into what happened with the taping.
"One young staffer got carried away and went over the line of acceptable campaign practice," Harkin said. He said the staff member had been fired.
Harkin rejected suggestions that taping the meeting was illegal, calling the charge "utter nonsense."
"I don't condone it but it doesn't rise to the level of criminal conduct," Harkin said. "It appears these shenanigans were the work of one young staffer who did not have adequate supervision and control."
While Harkin said Link did nothing wrong, he said Link had taken responsibility for that lack of supervision and offered to step aside.
Link was Harkin's campaign manager in 1996 and served as his chief of staff after Harkin won a third term. Harkin said he would be replaced by John Frew, who ran Harkin's first Senate campaign in 1984.
Republicans have charged that Harkin aides directed the taping be done.
"We do know that the source was not a rogue Harkin supporter," said Iowa Republican Chairman Chuck Larson. "He was directed by the Harkin campaign to infiltrate the Ganske campaign."
Harkin's campaign rejected the charge but admitted it passed along a transcript of the tape recording to reporters and apologized for doing so.
Republicans publicly identified the person who made the tape as Brian Conley, a businessman who was on Harkin's staff in the 1970s, and Democratic sources confirmed it. Conley has retained a lawyer and is not speaking publicly.
Larson contended that Harkin aides directed Conley to donate $50 to Ganske to get on his mailing and invitation lists and specifically directed him to attend the Sept. 3 meeting.
"He went to the campaign office, he was given the recording device and asked if he would consider recording the meeting," Larson said. "After the meeting, he returned the recording device to the campaign."
Larson declined to say where he got those details.
Republicans have asked state and federal officials to investigate the incident, but there are deep disagreements over whether there is anything to investigate.
"I have reviewed a transcript of that meeting and it is clear that it is neither private nor confidential but simply a fund-raiser and in that situation it certainly would not be a crime to record the meeting," Wiggins said.
Larson disagreed: "The communication was illegally intercepted with the intent of causing harm to the Ganske campaign."