Ethics Panel Votes to Open 6-Point Inquiry on Wright : 1st Speaker of Century to Be Targeted

The House Ethics Committee said today that it will investigate six allegations of possible misconduct by House Speaker Jim Wright, the first time in this century a House Speaker has been the target of an ethics inquiry.

Wright said the complaints were “politically motivated” and expressed full confidence that he will be vindicated by the committee.

Rep. Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles), chairman of the ethics committee, said the committee’s decision to begin a “preliminary inquiry” was unanimous among the six Democratic and six Republican members. He said that Wright had been notified and that “he has pledged his full cooperation.” Dixon refused to answer any questions about the case.

Dixon said the committee’s investigation will focus on six questions involving Wright’s activities: his efforts on behalf of Texas savings and loan institutions, his contacts with the Interior Department concerning a Texas oil firm, whether campaign funds were used to pay for the publication of Wright’s book, the use of a staff aide to prepare the book for publication, the use of a condominium in Ft. Worth, Tex., owned by a Wright friend, and Wright’s dealings with officials of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

8 1/2-Hour Meeting

The committee met 8 1/2 hours behind closed doors Thursday night before reaching final agreement to launch the investigation and on what points would be examined.

Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who made the formal request for an investigation, said the committee’s bipartisan decision was “good for the country . . . good for the House as an institution.”

Gingrich said it is “clear that they will have to hire an outside counsel” to conduct the investigation rather than leave it to the committee staff. Dixon did not disclose whether a decision had been made on that question.

Gingrich has for several months said the committee should investigate Wright, but he did not formally request such an inquiry until May 26, after Common Cause also publicly called for an investigation. Gingrich’s letter to the committee was co-signed by 72 other House Republicans.

Will Chair Convention

Recently, Vice President George Bush, on the presidential campaign trail, and Republican National Chairman Frank Fahrenkopf also have called for an ethics investigation of Wright.

Wright’s supporters have called the charges a Republican effort to deflect criticism of ethical lapses in the Reagan Administration and the current controversy surrounding Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III.

Wright is scheduled to preside as chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta next month.

As Speaker of the House, Wright, 65, stands second in line for succession to the presidency. He became Speaker at the start of the 100th Congress in January, 1987, after serving nine years as House Democratic leader.

‘Absolute Confidence’

Shortly before Dixon’s announcement, Wright met with reporters to answer questions about the investigation. He released a narrative of his activities that have been called into question and declared, “I have absolute confidence . . . the committee will discover that no rule of the House was violated.”

The 23-page narrative was accompanied by a half-inch-thick pile of supporting materials relating to his finances and the unusually high royalties on his book, “Reflections of a Public Man.”

Questions about the book center on the unusually high royalty--55%--paid him by the publisher, Carlos Moore, a longtime friend of Wright, and whether the Texas Democrat’s campaign committee helped finance the book’s publication, which would be an improper conversion of campaign money for personal gain.