Montoya Cause Gains as FPPC Moves Toward Rule on Unlimited Legal Funds

State Sen. Joseph B. Montoya’s bid to raise contributions for his legal defense gained ground Friday when the Fair Political Practices Commission agreed to draft a rule that would let politicians collect unlimited amounts of money to pay the costs of a criminal trial.

Meeting in Los Angeles, the commission refused to adopt a proposal to make contributions to a politician’s legal defense fund subject to the restrictions of Proposition 73, which limits contributions to amounts ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 a year.

Instead, members of the campaign oversight commission indicated that they would be likely to approve a rule at their November meeting that would place no limits on the amount a politician who is charged with a crime could receive to pay the costs of defending himself.

The beleaguered Montoya (D-Whittier), facing 12 counts of extortion, bribery, racketeering and money laundering, had asked the commission to rule that he could raise money outside the limits of Proposition 73--an initiative he co-sponsored.

Such a regulation could help Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley if a federal grand jury investigation of his personal finances leads to criminal charges, the commission staff said. And it could aid Assemblyman John R. Lewis (R-Orange), who has been charged with felony forgery for his role in using the name of then-President Ronald Reagan on campaign mailers.

In the past, the commission has ruled that funds raised for a candidate’s legal defense would be considered campaign donations and therefore subject to the Proposition 73 limits. The draft regulation prepared by the commission’s staff would have spelled out the restrictions even more clearly in the Montoya case.

But members of the commission questioned whether limits on fund-raising in criminal cases would violate a defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to mount a legal defense. Three of the commission’s five members indicated that they would favor designating such contributions as gifts, which are not limited in size.

Siding with Montoya was Republican Assembly Leader Ross Johnson of La Habra, the principal author of Proposition 73, who told the commission that it would not be fair to limit the defense of a politician charged with a crime.

In a separate matter, U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson called on the commission to help prevent candidates from circumventing the campaign contribution limits of Proposition 73 by relying on political parties and independent groups to promote their campaigns.

Wilson, the leading Republican candidate for governor in 1990, also called on his Democratic rivals, Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp and former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein--as well as newspaper publishers and broadcasters--to join in efforts to limit political expenditures by independent groups on behalf of individual candidates.

Such restrictions on spending by political parties and independent committees would most help Wilson, who has no GOP opponent and is expected to have a substantial fund-raising advantage over the winner of the Democratic primary in June.

After Wilson left the hearing, his presentation came under attack from Commissioner Donald Vial, who protested, “We gave him a forum for political purposes. We shouldn’t let ourselves be used and abused for political purposes.”