Wright Ordered Staff to Push Book Sales, Report Says

A former aide to House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) has told House investigators that Wright once directed his staff to push sales of a controversial book that earned Wright substantial income not covered by congressional limits on outside earnings, it was reported Friday.

The aide, Matthew Cossolotto, also said he was once asked by Wright to sign a sworn statement that his work on the 117-page volume was voluntary and done after hours but he refused to do so, according to the account in the Wall Street Journal.

A spokesman for Wright disputed the story, describing Cossolotto as a “disgruntled former employee.”

The development came as the House Ethics Committee said it would retain Chicago lawyer Richard J. Phelan, the special counsel who has directed the committee’s nine-month probe into Wright’s financial affairs, for another two months beyond the scheduled April 30 expiration of his contract.

Word of Phelan’s extended tenure increased speculation among some members of Congress that the panel, which is expected to issue a report next week, would find that Wright had not fully complied with one or more House rules of ethical behavior.

“No one expects him (Wright) to come out unscathed,” said a worried veteran Democratic congressman who asked not to be identified.

Under the committee’s procedures, Wright would have 21 days to reply to a finding of a violation and then the panel itself would have another 30 days to give its final verdict and decide what kind of penalty, if any, would be imposed.

Committee Chairman Julian C. Dixon (D-Los Angeles), and the panel’s ranking Republican, John T. Myers of Indiana, indicated that Phelan’s entire 456-page report would be made public even if the committee disagrees with some of his conclusions.

This appeared to put the panel at odds with House Democratic leaders who argued that such a step would set a bad precedent by publicizing unproven allegations and make it more difficult to conduct future investigations.

Dixon said, however, it was customary to release the entire report when the ethics panel hired an outside counsel for an inquiry.

Bulk Sales

While Dixon, Myers and other committee members refused to comment on the nature of the deliberations, they appeared to be focusing their attention in part on bulk sales of Wright’s 1984 book, “Reflections of a Public Man,” to business groups and political supporters and his complex financial ties with Ft. Worth developer George A. Mallick Jr.

One major issue is whether Wright evaded the strict House limits on speaking fees by directing speech sponsors to make bulk purchases of his book rather than paying him directly for his speech. Book royalty payments are exempt from honorarium limits set by Congress on its members. Wright has reported earning $55,000 from the book.

Wright acknowledged Wednesday that he approved the sale of $3,000 worth of books to Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Tex., in 1984 in lieu of a speaking fee, for example, thus pocketing $1,650 that he otherwise could not have accepted.

Cossolotto, according to the Wall Street Journal story, said Wright told his staff aides at a breakfast meeting early in 1985 to arrange promotional events for the book.

In addition, he said Wright asked him last June to affirm that his work on the book was voluntary and done on his own time, the story added. Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the Speaker, said Cossolotto offered to provide an affidavit without any request from Wright and then later changed his mind, refusing to do so.

While it is against congressional rules to use staff members for “personal” or “unofficial” matters, there are no clearly drawn definitions of either activity. The practice of using staff members to help write books, speeches and articles is widespread in Congress, and many members doubt that the committee will crack down on Wright for his use of Cossolotto.

Meanwhile, the Speaker disassociated himself from harsh public criticism of Phelan by his old friend and former business partner Mallick in press interviews. Mallick charged that Phelan was striving to stack the evidence to cast Wright in the harshest light.

“Mr. Mallick is speaking entirely for himself,” said a spokesman for Wright. “The Speaker has complete faith in his congressional colleagues to deal with these issues fairly and thoroughly.”