Undercover Reporting

"The Gary Hart Story - How It Happened" - Jim McGee, Tom Fiedler, James Savage - Miami Herald

1987-05-10

        "The voice on the other end of the telephone was strained with a nervous jocularity.         “You know, you said in the paper that there were rumors that Gary Hart is a womanizer, ” he woman told Miami Herald Political Editor Tom Fiedler.          “'Those aren't rumors. How much do you guys pay for pictures?'          "Gary Hart, 50, announced his quest for the presidency April 13 at the foot of the Rocky Mountains with a promise as lofty as the backdrop: 'All of us must try to hold ourselves to the very highest standards of integrity and ethics, and soundness of judgment... '          "He began as the front-runner with everything in his favor. Polls showed him not only winning the Democratic nomination, but handily beating George Bush -- the GOP’s early favorite -- in a theoretical matchup.         "The former Colorado senator surrounded himself with the brightest minds in politics. He showed a new surefootedness, the product of having run the course once before, in 1984. The gold ring seemed within reach.        "And the voice on the telephone was offering evidence to The Herald that could undo it all.        "The call was the beginning of one of the fastest, most shocking unravelings of a presidential campaign in American history. The saga has elements of a prime-time soap opera: the Marlboro-man handsome candidate, the long-suffering wife, the lust for power, the blond poster model from Miami Vice, the overnight trip to Bimini --capped by a weekend in Washington. . . . "

"Sex Lives Become an Issue for Presidential Hopefuls" - Tom Fiedler - Miami Herald

1987-04-27

". . .So as his campaign plane flew toward yet another stop, the press demanded to talk with Hart on the subject that had dominated reporters' conversations for days: his sex life. More precisely, they wanted to quiz him about rumors of marital infidelity. . ."

"Miami Woman is Linked to Hart - Candidate Denies Any Impropriety" - Jim McGee and Tom Fiedler - Miami Herald

1987-05-03

"Gary Hart, the Democratic presidential candidate who has dismissed allegations of womanizing, spent Friday night and most of Saturday in his Capitol Hill townhouse with a young woman who flew from Miami and met him, Hart denied any impropreity. Hart, 50, was confronted late Saturday evening by Miami Herald reporters who had documented the movements of the former Colorado senator and the unidentified woman from the time she left Miami on Friday afternoon aboard Eastern Airlines Flight 996. . ."

"Hart: I Did Nothing Wrong - Presidential Candidate Calls Miami Woman Acquantance" - Jim McGee and Tom Fiedler - Miami Herald

1987-05-04

"Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart acrried on a private relationship with a young Miami woman for at least two months that included long-distance phone calls and avisit to his Washington townhouse this weekend, according the a Herald investigation and Hart's own admissions. . ."

"Journalists Debate Ethics of Herald Story" - Celia W. Dugger - Miami Herald

1987-05-05

". . .Their concern is the story behind the Hart story, which led Monday evening's network newscasts on ABC, NBC and CBS. Some leading journalists criticized The Herald for using what they considered unethical tactics to get the story, and then rushing it into print Sunday before it was adequately checked out. . ."

"Top Aide's Account Contradicts Hart's" - Tom Fiedler and Jim McGee - Miami Herald

1987-05-05

"Gary Hart's campaign manager has offered an account of Hart's weekend meetings with aspiring Miami actress Donna Rice that flatly contradicts explanations from Hart and another campaign advisor. William Dixon attacked a Miami Herald report about Hart's relationship with Rice as 'preposterous; and 'inaccurate in every way' . . ."

"Hart to Drop Presidential Bid" - Robert S. Boyd, Carl Cannon and Paul Nussbaum - Miami Herald

Former Senator Says Goodbye to His Staff After New Revelation

1987-05-08

". . .Faced with the prospect of another damaging allegation of a relationship with a woman other than his wife, the 50-year-old former Colorado senator abruptly broke off his quest for the White House Thursday and flew home with his wife, Lee, from a campaign swing in New Hampshire. . ."

"Pictures With Woman Helped End Campaign" - Owen Ullmann - Miami Herald

1987-05-09

". . .Post reporters checked out the material and concluded by Wednesday night that it was accurate. A Post reporter covering the Hart campaign in New Hampshire told Hart press secretary Kevin Sweeney about the material late that night. The reporter tried to ask Hart directly about the material. Hart was informed immediately about the material but would not talk to the reporter. . ."

"Private Lives Public Business in Presidential Campaign" - Heath Meriwether - Miami Herald

1987-05-05

". . .We conducted surveillance of Hart's capitol Hill townhouse from the public streets. We didn't hide in the bushes or peep in windows, as Hart's campaign manager has suggested. And when the candidate seemed aware of our presence, we broke off our suveillance and went to him with our questions. We then published our story. . ."

"Hart Ratings Plunge in National Surveys" - Miami Herald

1987-05-08

"The unfavorable rating Gary Hart recieved in nationwide polls has doubled, ranging from 26 percent to 40 percent, two polls showed Thursday. . . More than half of the respondents, 56 percent. said The Miami Herald- the newspaper that broke the story - was not fair to Hart, and half the voters did not think wuestions about candidate's sex lives are appropriate. . ."

"Some Hart Aides Admit Anger Over His Judgement" - Robert S. Boyd - Miami Herald

Wednesday, May 6, 1987

". . .ABC News released a poll Tuesday indicating that Hart's big lead over other Democratic presidential candidates had fallen 10 points after the allegations. . ."

"The Points At Issue" - Tom Fiedler - Miami Herald

1987-05-07

"Gary Hart's press conference at Dartmouth College on Wednesday raised new conflicts between his earlier statements and those of Donna Rice, campaign advisor William C. Broadhurst and events witnessed by The Miami Herald. . ."

"Now the Cover-Up" - Herald Staff - Miami Herald

Thursday, May 7, 1987

"Gary Hart now has added lying to his previously documented demonstrations of bad judgement. The Democratic Presidential candidate is behaving in the classic pattern of a man trapped by public disclosure of his own actions: he is shading the truth. . ."

"Hart Departs" - Herald Staff - Miami Herald

1987-05-09

". . .Mr. Hart was correct in his complaint that personal affairs should not eclipse public discussion of foreign policy, of arms control, of defense readiness, and of Federal budgets. His error was in asserting that his own views on these issues were so brilliant that the flawed character and judgement evident in his dalliances should be overlooked. . ."