Ethics Panel Deciding Whether to Probe Wright

Members of the House Ethics Committee met late into the evening Thursday, trying to decide whether to formally investigate Republican allegations that Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) misused his office for the financial benefit of himself and Texas cronies.

It was the second meeting in a week by the 12-member committee in response to requests for an investigation filed by Common Cause, the citizens’ lobby, and a group of more than 70 House Republicans led by Rep. Newt Gingrich of Georgia.

The committee met until 11:25 p.m., but none of the members would disclose what had occurred during the nearly 8 1/2 hours of secret session. Neither would they say whether any decisions had been made or whether any future sessions had been scheduled.

Although Wright himself has urged the panel to conduct an inquiry, members of the committee, headed by Rep. Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles), refused to comment on the likelihood of an investigation before the start of their meeting.

But knowledgeable sources predicted that the committee would accede to Wright’s request for a speedy inquiry.

Outside Counsel

Sources said that one of the key questions under consideration was whether the committee would call in an outside counsel to lead the investigation, as it has done when faced with other politically volatile cases.

No matter what the committee decides, the allegations against Wright are expected to cause embarrassment for other Democratic office seekers, including apparent presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis, in the November elections. Wright is not only the nation’s top Democratic officeholder but he has been designated chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta next month.

Democrats have charged that the allegations against Wright were motivated entirely by a desire on the part of House Republicans to create a Democratic scandal that would divert attention from the embarrassment that Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III’s legal problems are causing for the apparent GOP presidential nominee, Vice President George Bush.

In response, Republicans note that the charges first were filed with the committee by Common Cause, a group that is technically nonpartisan but generally sides with Democrats on most major issues.

If the committee votes to pursue an inquiry, it would be the biggest investigation of a House member since 1980, when Rep. Michael (Ozzie) Meyers (D-Pa.) was expelled from the House after his Abscam conviction, and the first time that a Speaker has been swept up in an scandal since 1977, when Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) was implicated briefly in the Korean lobbying investigation.

Book Called Subterfuge

Wright, who succeeded O’Neill as Speaker in January, 1987, is accused of publishing a 117-page book as a subterfuge to convert at least $55,000 in campaign donations to his personal use. He is also accused of violating House rules by lobbying federal regulators on behalf of oil and gas interests.

Before the Ethics Committee meeting Thursday, Wright told reporters that he is “supremely confident” that he would be exonerated after a thorough examination of the record. He volunteered to testify before the committee and added that he had written a narrative response to the charges, which he intends to release to the public.

Wants Early Action

“I would like for it to be done at the earliest possible time,” he added. “I believe I can put all the allegations to rest.”

The ethics panel, established in 1967, was virtually moribund until 1975, when it was called on to investigate the sex scandal involving Rep. Wayne Hayes (D-Ohio). The panel later played a major role in investigating the Korean lobbying case, but it acted against Meyers only after he was convicted in court.