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Morning News

Former Maine Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Connolly Discusses Releasing 1976 Bush DUI Conviction to Public

Aired November 3, 2000 - 11:52 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And as this story has come to light, there's been a lot of questions about the timing of it, four days before the election.

We have on the phone with us now Tom Connolly. He is a former candidate for governor in the state of Maine. He's a Democrat activist, a lawyer, and also a man that says that he was the source of the public record, of making the court record available to a television reporter in Maine to bring this to light.

And as we said, we have with us Tom Connolly on the phone from Portland.

Mr. Connolly, can you hear us?

TOM CONNOLLY (D), FMR. MAINE GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Yes I can. Thank you, Erin (ph).

KAGAN: Can you explain to us why you thought it was important to bring this to the attention of the America people at this time, so close to the election?

CONNOLLY: Well, because it's a criminal conviction. And also because the nature of a DWI or OUI conviction is such that it may be considered by many to be a crime of moral turpitude, and to be an issue particularly in instances of denial by W., of alcohol problems ongoing especially. So I thought it was relevant to the whole analysis of who should be president.

KAGAN: But how long have you had this and why did you release it so late? Why'd you bring it to the public's attention so late and so close to the election?

CONNOLLY: Because I only got it yesterday. The information had been well known to the Bush camp for the whole campaign. I'm not associated with the Gore campaign at all, and it came to me in my capacity as an attorney. As soon as I verified it within, oh, an hour, it was disclosed to the news people.

So it's disingenuous to say that this was planned to come out at the 11th hour. In fact, it was planned never to come out by the Bush people and it was only by the phrase that God looks after drunks in the United States of America that it did come out. KAGAN: Well, you bring up God. And I know also in your Democratic bid for the governorship, you brought up -- you closed a speech with a quote, saying, God will help us be good Democrats. Do you think bringing this to the public light, this makes you a good Democrat?

CONNOLLY: It makes me a good citizen. The fact whether it's a good Democrat of not is irrelevant. The fact is is it allows people who are independent, who are Republican, who are Democrats, to evaluate who should be the next president.

And recollect that more than 25,000 Americans a year die from drunk driving, and that's a big deal. If you add that up, four years, that's 100,000 Americans that are going to be dead during this guy's first term.

The fact that he would not disclose that he had this conviction, that he has not been under treatment, the fact that he is in denial about drug use also, goes directly...

KAGAN: Well, wait, wait. Before you get into drug use, we're not going to go on that...

CONNOLLY: Sure.

KAGAN: ... because, you know, you are a lawyer and those are unsubstantiated allegations from the past. And you talk about not using dirty tricks, and we don't want to go in that direction right now. Want to get you back to the direction...

CONNOLLY: Sure. Please, please.

KAGAN: ... of any ties you might have to the Gore campaign. How well do you know Chris Lehane?

CONNOLLY: I don't know the man.

KAGAN: You don't know Chris Lehane?

CONNOLLY: Who is that?

KAGAN: He's a spokeswoman for -- a spokesman for Al Gore.

CONNOLLY: No, I'm -- don't know him.

KAGAN: So you've had no -- before you let this come out, you had no contact, you didn't contact the Gore campaign, as a Democratic activist you didn't think it would be important and maybe helpful to the Gore people to give them a heads-up that this was going to come out? CONNOLLY: I tried to. I tried to fax it to them. The line was busy. I was in court yesterday. When I went back from trying to fax that down to Tennessee, I went over to court and the reporter was there, incidentally, on a different case, and then the story broke.

So I have not had any direct contact myself or any response from the Gore camp at all, zero.

KAGAN: When you look at how this story has played over the last few hours, as Americans have reacted to it, do you think maybe by releasing this information you actually have hurt Al Gore?

CONNOLLY: That's not my role. My role is to release information that I considered germane to the decision-making process. And the chips will fall where they are. That's your job, is to evaluate it, analyze it, discuss it, debate it, criticize it and what have you.

But I want to underscore that this came out as a result of serendipitous actions, that the suppression of the truth, however, was a plan on their part. And that's what should be focused on, not the fact that this came out late. It was good that it came out at all before the election. If it came out a week after the election, it would have no saliency.

KAGAN: So given all that, would you say you're proud of what you've done or have any regrets?

CONNOLLY: Well, I'm certainly not have any regrets. It's not a prideful thing whatsoever, it's an act of democracy, just as if a person was required to do anything for their country that they would have considered it an important thing. But it's not necessarily laudatory or anything like that. I didn't do anything except provide the information.

KAGAN: Tom Connolly joining us on the phone from Portland, Maine. Thank you for joining us, sir. Appreciate it.

CONNOLLY: Thank you.

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