Deaver Realty Deal Facing Inquiry

The Office of Government Ethics is investigating a $10,000 real estate deal to determine whether White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael K. Deaver properly complied with requirements on his financial disclosure statements, it was disclosed Friday.

David Martin, director of the ethics office, said he was looking into the transaction to determine when Deaver should have reported his return on the principal and profit on the investment. The transaction was reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

President Reagan announced Thursday that Deaver, 46, is resigning from his White House post, effective between March and May.

Martin said he began the inquiry last week at the request of White House counsel Fred F. Fielding.

Not Taking Calls

Deaver has not been taking calls from reporters since his resignation was announced.

Fielding said he did not believe that Deaver’s resignation was prompted by the inquiry.

“I’m looking at a set of circumstances involving Form 278, the government standard disclosure statement for top government officials, to determine whether there is any conflict of interest,” Martin said.

He said the question centers on when Deaver should have reported the returns on the $10,000 investment made in 1981. Deaver, who withdrew from the real estate partnership in 1982, will be interviewed by Martin.

Martin said he expects to have a report on his investigation next week.

Fielding said he had asked Martin “to look into the entire situation and gather their own facts.”

“This has been going on for two or three weeks,” he said.

He said Deaver made a profit of $10,000 plus the return on his capital investment. He said Deaver reported the asset, and the question is whether he had properly reported the entire transaction.

Fielding said Deaver was a “minuscule general partner in a large entity” and indicated that there may have been a technical failure in the reporting.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Deaver was paid for the investment venture in two installments in 1983 and 1984. But his 1983 profit was not reported on his tax returns for technical reasons, according to his accountant. Deaver’s accountant told the newspaper that the profit will be reported in the 1984 returns.