House Ethics Panel to Study 3 Lawmakers

The House Ethics Committee on Wednesday approved separate preliminary inquiries into allegations that House Banking Committee Chairman Fernand J. St Germain (D-R.I.) and two other congressmen misused their offices.

The other subjects of the inquiries are Reps. James Weaver (D-Ore.) and Bill Boner (D-Tenn.).

The ethics panel, formally the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, also announced that it completed a preliminary inquiry into Rep. Dan Daniel’s free trips to his district in a defense contractor’s airplanes.

But results of the investigation of the Virginia Democrat will not be released until the report is printed, which could be next week, the committee officials said.

To Clarify Issue

The committee said that it hopes the report on Daniel will clarify circumstances “under which members may accept free transportation from outside persons or organizations.”

The panel, following its normal procedure, did not specify the reasons for the preliminary inquiries involving St Germain, Weaver and Boner. Each has denied any wrongdoing.

The committee said the purpose of the inquiries is to “obtain all relevant facts surrounding the allegations” and emphasized that “formal charges have not been issued against any of the members involved at this time.”

Boner Wrote Committee

Boner, who had written the committee asking for the investigation, said: “I am pleased the Ethics Committee has taken up my request in a timely fashion. I’m now looking forward to presenting the facts before this fair and impartial forum.”

Weaver also asked for the probe and referred a reporter to his letter to the committee, in which he said: “It is clear that all my activities have been legal and ethical.”

St Germain responded that the committee “is required to make these preliminary inquiries when issues are raised by the public media and other sources.”

“As I have said from the beginning, I have properly and fully reported all of my financial affairs on the disclosure forms filed with the Ethics Committee,” he said. “I have met both the spirit and the letter of the rules of the House.”

Newspaper Report

In September, 1985, the Wall Street Journal published an article linking St Germain’s personal financial gains to his post as chairman of the House Banking Committee. The newspaper also said the Internal Revenue Service is challenging what the IRS terms “abusive tax shelters” in which St Germain has invested $120,000 for promised tax deductions of $405,000.

The Journal said an analysis of St Germain’s finances showed that he lobbied for permission for a Florida savings and loan to issue stock and then purchased $15,000 of the stock. And it said he received loans from two Rhode Island banks, with no-money-down financing, for purchase of restaurants.

Other news articles have alleged that Weaver lent $81,934 in campaign money to himself, lost it in financial investments and later filed a report showing the money as a repayment for a 1974 loan that he made to his campaign.

News reports and Common Cause, the citizens’ lobby, said Boner used his position to enrich himself and converted campaign money to his personal use. Articles said Boner used campaign money for a trip to the Orient, a luxury car, a pickup truck and for three Boner-owned companies.