MORE CAMPAIGN FUND RAISING

By Elaine Shannon/Washington

Nobody will be surprised if Attorney General JANET RENO decides against naming an independent counsel to probe telephone fund raising by President CLINTON and Vice President AL GORE. The 1883 statute against soliciting funds on federal property has never been tested in a telephone-solicitation case, and Justice pros don't want to start now. But Justice insiders are astonished at the number of leaks that have sprung, far ahead of the Dec. 2 decision deadline, disclosing that Reno's staff and the FBI want to shut down the case. Some officials suspect that the leaks are trial balloons aimed at pressing the Attorney General to go along with staff recommendations. Also, the leaks may be meant to defuse the political outcry sure to come from G.O.P. critics: Can anyone really object to a shutdown if Justice career staff and the FBI are a united front? "Looks like there's some heavy-duty softening going on," says a ranking Justice official. In fact, sources say, FBI Director LOUIS FREEH still believes that an independent counsel should take over the whole campaign-funding probe, if only to answer all questions that may remain.

--By Elaine Shannon/Washington