Senate Ethics Panel Pursues Packwood Harassment Case

While the rest of Washington is in its annual August doze, the Senate Ethics Committee is feverishly gathering material for its investigation of charges that Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) sexually harassed perhaps dozens of women who worked for and with him for more than two decades.

For over a month, the committee has been contacting nearly 300 women--all of whom worked for Packwood since he took office in 1969. Former Packwood employees recently received follow-up letters asking that they return their answers to a committee questionnaire this month, the Portland Oregonian newspaper reported last week.

Although the committee won’t comment on the progress of the investigation, women’s rights groups see the follow-up letters as a sign the panel is “trying to bring some closure to the investigation,” said Diane Linn, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the National Abortion Rights Action League.

The organizations now hope to press the committee into the relatively unusual step of conducting hearings of the charges in public. “All the women have agreed that a public hearing is the way to go,” Linn said. “That will make for a whole different scenario. The women’s groups both nationally and locally will begin gearing up.”

Daniel A. Rezneck, one of Packwood’s attorneys, said the senator and his legal team have not yet taken a position on whether the hearings should be public.

Since the Washington Post first reported the allegations against Packwood, shortly after his hard-fought reelection last fall, more than 20 women have accused the senator of making unwanted advances, including fondling and kissing them. Some charges date back to the late 1960s, Packwood’s earliest days in the Senate.

The senator initially denied the accusations, but later admitted, “My actions were just plain wrong.” He declined to specify which actions, and said he would not resign.

The scandal has outraged women’s groups, which had considered Packwood a staunch ally in their fight for abortion rights and other causes.

No civil or criminal charges have been filed against Packwood, which makes the Ethics Committee investigation the only inquiry under way. If the accusations are found to be true, Packwood faces a maximum penalty of expulsion from the Senate--a step requiring approval by two-thirds of his colleagues.

To help fight the charges, Packwood is accepting contributions to a legal expense trust fund. Public filings show that during the first six months of this year, the fund raised more than $222,000 and spent almost $198,000, primarily for the legal services of the prestigious and expensive Washington firm Arnold & Porter.

Many of those contributing to Packwood’s defense are the same interests who deal with the senator in his role as ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. The Finance Committee has broad jurisdiction over virtually every issue affecting business, including taxes, trade and the financing of President Clinton’s upcoming health care reform effort.

The biggest donors include four political action committees--the Airline Pilots Assn., the Laborer’s Political League, the Auto Dealers and Drivers for Free Trade PAC and Seafarers Political Activity--which gave $10,000 each. Other contributors include the Turner Broadcasting System PAC Inc., which gave $2,000, and Motion Picture Assn. of America President Jack Valenti, a $500 donor.

Contributors to such legal defense efforts are subject to fewer legal restrictions than campaign donors. Individual contributions to the Packwood fund, for instance, can be as high as $10,000, five times what a person may give to an election campaign.

While that has raised charges that the law allows a double standard, its defenders say that public officials are uniquely vulnerable to frivolous legal actions and need resources with which to defend themselves.

Packwood is making a series of public appearances in his home state during the August recess, but, to avoid protesters, has not released his schedule in advance.