Legal action likely following bitter Reform Party split
By SCOTT LINDLAW
Associated Press Writer

08/09/2000 Associated Press Newswires
Copyright 2000. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - The battle for control of the Reform Party appears headed for court as the presidential nominating convention has turned into two rival gatherings.

A civil war ripped the party in two Tuesday, with one faction rallying around White House hopeful Pat Buchanan and the other fiercely against him.

What was supposed to be a procedural hearing proved the flashpoint, and the anti-Buchanan contingent stormed out to stage their own meeting down the street.

The split raised the prospect that the convention here will produce two nominees, and it was all but certain to spark legal action. At stake is $12.5 million in federal funds for the nominee.

The Buchanan foes, many of them partial to party founder and Dallas billionaire Ross Perot, huddled late into Tuesday night plotting legal strategy. Jim Mangia, installed as chairman of one faction Tuesday, said his loyalists were considering legal action on three fronts, and were sure to take action by Thursday.

The possible avenues:

-A lawsuit under the federal False Claims Act, contending that Buchanan fraudulently sought to obtain money from the government.

-A claim of fraud in Superior Court here.

-A claim with the Federal Elections Commission seeking to block Buchanan from getting the $12.5 million.

"The legal action would be to prevent Buchanan from continuing to perpetuate fraud against the Reform Party and taxpayers by hijacking the party and stealing money," Mangia said.

Bay Buchanan, the candidate's sister and campaign manager, said any such legal action would be meritless.

"Within 10 days after the convention, we will have the matching funds, no matter what legal actions are taken," she predicted.

"I'm glad they're finally going to put it on the table so we can litigate it," said Gerry Moan, chairman of the pro-Buchanan faction.

All morning Tuesday, tensions that have been brewing between the pro- and anti-Buchanan contingents escalated.

Fanning the flames, many Reform Party activists were barred from the ballroom.

And for the first time in party history, members of the public and reporters were excluded from a national committee meeting, heightening suspicions among the anti-Buchanan faction that dirty tricks were being perpetrated behind closed doors.

The bone of contention inside the ballroom: That the Buchanan campaign was staging a hostile takeover of the party by installing loyalists on the national committee.

The committee was to rule on such key questions as whether Buchanan should be disqualified for breaking party rules in the primary process.The factions tried to shout each other down in a session that one participant called "lawless."

The fireworks climaxed when Buchanan opponent Russell Verney tried to shove his way in to the meeting.

He was turned back by off-duty police officers serving as security guards, but a handful of other protesters pushed through.

Moments later, the anti-Buchanan forces burst out of the meeting, claiming they had been trapped inside by the same guards. Jim Bourassa, a party activist from Arizona, claimed he was choked by the guards, and filed assault charges.

Led by Mangia, the anti-Buchanan forces marched down the street to another ballroom where they formed their own national committee and disqualified Buchanan from the party's ballot.

In the original ballroom down the street, the rival national committee ignored the challenge to Buchanan's candidacy and installed some of his supporters as chairmen of committees.

While the Buchanan side declared victory, neither faction emerged as a clear winner. Mangia took about 60 people into his breakaway gathering, and ultimately said he had 89 credentialed national committee members - well over the number required for a quorum.

Moan anticipated other disputes on Wednesday during dueling meetings of panels that will decide which activists will become delegates on the convention floor. Delegations in some 40 states were contested, he said.

"If you thought today was fun, you ain't seen nothing yet," Moan declared.

An hour after the factions splintered, Richard Porter stood at the scene of Tuesday's battle, shaking his head in frustration.

Even after the shoving and shouting, Porter said he preferred the free-for-all atmosphere at the party's convention here to the major
parties' scripted gatherings.

"My concern is that we'll be left with bloody bones as we try to flesh it out," said the party activist and congressional candidate from San
Simeon, Calif.

Porter said the latest mayhem reinforced the Reform Party's image as "a little ding-a-ling."