Gore expresses confidence in FBI probe of video case

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore said Saturday he has "full confidence" in the FBI as it investigates the debate videotape case.

Speaking briefly with reporters at the vice president's mansion, Gore said he knew little about the status of the investigation, which began after one of Gore's allies received a package containing a videotape of Texas Gov. George W. Bush's preparation for Tuesday's debate.

Gore

The incident gave rise to speculation that there was a mole in the Bush campaign. Both campaigns have denied any knowledge of such a person.

Former Rep. Tom Downey, who received the tape, turned the material over to the FBI, and a formal probe was launched.

The Washington Post reported Saturday that the FBI was focusing on an employee of Bush's media consultant because of fingerprints found on the package.

"I really don't know what to make of that. You know more than I do about it," Gore said.

As for the investigation itself, Gore said, "I have full confidence in the FBI."

For most of Saturday, Gore, like Bush, was meeting with advisers in preparation for the debate, which will take place in Boston, Massachusetts.

Gore was also meeting with what he called "real people," citizens outside of politics who, he said, were helping him gear up for the debate.

Gore talked with two of them at the vice president's mansion -- Gloria Bingle, a steelworker from Jeannette, Pennsylvania, and Matt Moseley, a firefighter from Atlanta, Georgia, who rescued a construction worker in April 1999.

"These two, along with some others, are going to help me throughout the debate prep, and we've just been talking about what people really look for and listen for when they're watching one of these debates," Gore said.

The vice president was scheduled to fly to Sarasota, Florida later Saturday for a rally and additional debate preparations.

For his part, Bush was preparing for the debate at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Polls show the two men running neck-and-neck. Saturday's CNN/USA Today Gallup poll of 664 likely voters found Gore with 46 percent, compared to 44 percent for Bush.

CNN polling analysts said the numbers show the race to be tighter than any presidential contest over the past two decades.

The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.