Battle Over the Teamsters’ Consent Decree

Politico obtains audio of Clinton's endorsement meeting with the union, finds that like Obama "she similarly suggested that the decree should be lifted." Comes after WSJ front-page story says Obama privately told Teamsters before gaining their endorsement that he was for ending the strict government oversight imposed to root out corruption. And: Clinton spokesmen say on media call the issue isn't the position, point to Obama's "Good Morning America" interview denying he made a "blanket commitment" to say he's contradicting his campaign. Politicians have mostly left monitoring of the Teamsters up to the Justice Department after an independent review board was established in '92 to eliminate mob influence in the group.