‘There Is No Deal’ for Quitting and Won’t Be One, Wright Says

Speaker Jim Wright said today that “there is no deal” with the House Ethics Committee for his resignation and that there will be none, adding that he has waited a year to tell his side of the controversy.

In a statement distributed by his office, the Texas Democrat said he did not meet with any emissary of the Ethics Committee, “nor did I ever offer to resign in return for any arrangement with the committee.”

He said friends “on both sides” had initiated discussions to assess the situation, “apparently trying to save the House from what they saw as a harsh and divisive confrontation. I did not initiate those discussions, and I did not want to be a party to a negotiated arrangement.”

“There is no deal now. There will be no deal in the future,” Wright said, adding that he is anxious for the opportunity “for my side of the story to be told and heard.”

One of Wright’s allies in the talks, Rep. Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.) said there were “no further discussions” today but called Wednesday’s talks “intense and very detailed.”