Brown Says His Lobbyist Past Poses No Conflict : Hearing: Commerce nominee sees no problem with ethics, insists he’d promote U.S. business interests fairly.

Commerce Secretary-designate Ronald H. Brown insisted at his confirmation hearing Wednesday that he would promote American business interests fairly, despite his background as a lobbyist for such foreign clients as the late Haitian dictator Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier and the Japanese electronics industry.

Brown, 51, the first of President-elect Bill Clinton’s nominees to face Senate confirmation proceedings, staunchly denied polite suggestions by Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee that his previous activities as a lobbyist and investor are in conflict with the high ethical standards Clinton has promised for his Administration.

“I don’t think there is going to be a problem of conflict or ethics or anything in that regard,” Brown said. He pledged that he would “adhere to the highest ethical standards.”

Brown--whose lobbying activities have made him a multimillionaire--said that he would resign from the Washington firm of Patton, Boggs & Blow and recuse himself for one year from dealing with any matter that would affect his current clients. He said that he would also disqualify himself from dealing with issues that have a direct impact on most of the companies in which he has invested money.

Although Brown, the current Democratic Party chairman and the first black nominated as commerce secretary, was questioned about his controversial lobbying activities, the hearings were by no means contentious. Republicans as well as Democrats lavished high praise on the politically savvy Brown, who as Democratic chairman has been credited with helping to elect a member of his party to the White House for the first time in 12 years.

Brown and other nominees are expected to be confirmed by the Senate shortly after Clinton is sworn into office Jan. 20.

Even Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who asked most of the embarrassing questions, said that he views Brown as qualified for the job. And Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) dismissed Brown’s representation of controversial foreign clients by noting that he himself had defended murderers as a private attorney.

Brown rejected suggestions by Lott that his representation of Japanese electronics firms might cause Americans to question his loyalty to domestic interests. On the contrary, he said, his background as a lobbyist for the Japanese provides him with the experience to make him a better advocate of American interests.

“I don’t find anything controversial in having represented American subsidiaries of Japanese companies,” he declared.

Brown said that, even though he had worked as a lobbyist in Washington for the repressive Haitian regime, he used his position to pressure Duvalier to improve the human rights record of that country.

“I did a good job for my client,” he said. “I did a good job for American interests.”

Asked about reports that he had also represented the Bank of Credit & Commerce International, which was responsible for the worst international bank scandal in history, he insisted he had no knowledge until recently that BCCI was a client of the firm.

Like all Cabinet nominees, Brown was forced to disclose the nature of his business holdings and the full extent of his personal wealth. Although Hollings characterized him as the poorest man to be nominated commerce secretary in the committee’s memory, many senators expressed astonishment that a man who grew up in Harlem would be willing to relinquish a lucrative source of income to join the government.

Brown valued his share of the partnership of the law firm of Patton, Boggs & Blow at less than $1 million. In addition, he reported receiving an income of $580,000 from the firm over the last year as well as $85,000 in salary from the Democratic National Committee and smaller amounts from various investments.

Asked about an investment in Chemfix, a sludge recycling firm, he denied reports that he had chosen to locate the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York City so that Chemfix could win a contract with that city. In fact, he said, Chemfix did not get the contract.

Senators from both sides of the aisle had hoped that Brown would offer new details of Clinton’s ethics guidelines, which were issued in summary form several weeks ago. But Brown insisted he had no idea how the rules would affect him.

The new rules are designed to eliminate the so-called “revolving door” by which officials move back and forth between business and government, a practice that leads taxpayers to question the loyalty of federal officials. Earlier in his career, Brown became a lobbyist for interests affected by the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he had served as a staff member.

Under the Clinton Administration ethics rules, Brown would be prohibited from lobbying the Commerce Department for at least five years after leaving government service. He also would be barred from representing any foreign government for the rest of his life.

But he declined to say whether he would also be required to abide by a new rule prohibiting officials involved in U.S. trade negotiations from representing any foreign business client for five years after leaving government. The commerce secretary often is involved in trade talks.

“I’ve given no thought to what I’m going to do when I leave government,” Brown said. “I will never be an unethical person. . . . I don’t know whether the rules are going to affect me or not.”

But Brown pledged to abide by the new rules, whatever they are.

“The American public needs and deserves absolute certainty about whose interests are being served in government,” he said. “These new standards will help restore confidence and break the cycle of cynicism. . . . I am proud to be part of this change.”