Clintons Take Controversial Vacation

CHILMARK, Mass.--Up-island on Martha's Vineyard, preparations are under way for the weekend wedding of actors Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson.

But in Boston and Washington, political watchdogs say they are dismayed that the most prominent wedding guests -- the Clintons -- will be house guests of the lead developer of the proposed Wampanoag Indian casino.

There is nothing illegal in the Clintons accepting an invitation to stay at developer Richard Friedman's summer house in Edgartown. They stayed at Friedman's home for 10 days last year.

But in January, Friedman joined the casino project, which will need approval from several federal agencies if it passes muster with the state Legislature. And that creates the appearance of a conflict of interest, said Paul Fitzgerald, executive director of Common Cause in Massachusetts.

"Whenever these sort of relationships occur and people perceive that there may be a conflict, it undermines the credibility of government and institutions and feeds people's cynicism," Fitzgerald said.

Presidents must report gifts worth more than $250 on annual financial disclosure forms, but staying by invitation at someone's home is exempt.

"It doesn't really matter what the rules are. There's an appearance issue here, and that's where Bill Clinton should know better," said Chuck Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity. "This is supposedly the kind of thing he was going to end -- politics as usual and hanging out with wealthy contributors."

The Clintons will not reimburse Friedman for their two-day stay at his restored farmhouse in Edgartown, White House officials said.

"They were invited to stay there and they stayed there [a] year ago, and he was gracious enough to invite them back," said Neel Lattimore, deputy press secretary for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"This is a time for them to go to the wedding of friends and see people they haven't seen for a long time, and that's the extent of it," he said.

Friedman, who considers himself of a friend of the president's, denies ever speaking with Clinton about the casino. He said he invited the Clintons to return any time after their stay last summer, before he was even involved with the gambling proposal: "There's no connection at all."

Steenburgen, who is from Arkansas, is an old friend of the Clintons, who plan to arrive on the island about 7 p.m. today and stay through Sunday morning.

The wedding, which will take place at Steenburgen's and Danson's newly refurbished home in Chilmark, is expected to include several entertainers.

Among the 175 guests, according to the Cape Cod Times, will be the cast of Danson's popular television series "Cheers," island residents Carly Simon and James Taylor, and Jack Nicholson and Bruce Springsteen.

The only damper on the occasion could be the weather. Although any spillover from Hurricane Opal will be gone by the weekend, the National Weather Service predicts a chance of showers tomorrow and partly cloudy skies Sunday, with high temperatures in the 60s.