Minnesotans Get Apology From Sen. Durenberger Over Finances

Sen. Dave Durenberger (R-Minn.) made a public apology Wednesday to the people of Minnesota, breaking a yearlong silence to say “I have let you down” and admitting “mistakes and . . . lapses of judgment” in handling his personal finances over the last several years.

Durenberger’s apology, which he made at four news conferences in Minnesota, was offered in the midst of a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into whether he evaded limits on honorariums in collecting $100,000 in 1985-86 under an unusual book contract or broke Senate rules in soliciting trips from special interest groups to visit Boston on personal business.

The senator admitted no violations of law or Senate rules. But he said: “I failed to appreciate the appearance of what I was doing. For the disappointment and embarrassment I’ve caused my family, supporters and friends--and all Minnesotans--I am deeply sorry.”

Durenberger said in a telephone interview that his decision to ignore his attorneys’ advice and answer questions was triggered mainly by a Minneapolis Star-Tribune report earlier this month that disclosed he has been charging the Senate rent for staying at his own condominium in Minneapolis.

Ruth Stanoch, chairwoman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, said she found the timing of Durenberger’s statement curious because he would not comment on his finances during his reelection campaign last fall.

Durenberger noted that the expense of having residences in Washington and in Minnesota and raising four college-age sons led him to try “to find a way--within the rules--of both increasing my income and reducing my expenses.”