FILE PHOTO 4JAN96 - House Minority leader Richard Gephardt, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, threatened on NBC's "Meet The Press" May 10 to seek a vote to oust the controversial Republican spearheading a probe of alleged Democratic fund-raising abuses. Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat, said Democrats were making a last stab at cooperating on the investigation with Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee. The panel's Democrats "are going to try again this week to get him to act properly," Gephardt said."If he will, we're willing to go forward," he added. "But if he simply continues to do what he's been doing, we have no choice but to ask him to step down, and even go to the floor of the House and ask the House to vote on this proposition." Gephardt is shown in January 4 1996 file photo.

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