Specter Threatened Over Bork Vote

WASHINGTON — Two men telephoned the office of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and threatened to kill him unless he votes their way on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Robert H. Bork, aides said Wednesday.

Jay Batley, Specter’s office manager, said the FBI placed a “tracer” on the senator’s office phone lines in case other threats are received. Capitol police and Philadelphia police also will provide added protection for the senator, he said.

Batley said the first threat was called in Saturday after Bork, a federal appeals court judge, testified in a weekend session of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That threat came from a pro-Bork caller, he said.

The second threat came Monday from an anti-Bork caller. Both callers were men and each threatened to kill Specter if he did not vote their way on Bork, Batley said.

Specter, a member of the committee, is publicly uncommitted on the nomination. The threats came as his office is being inundated with calls from constituents for and against Bork’s nomination, aides said.