Packwood Loses Bid to Retain Diaries--in Court of Last Resort

Sen. Bob Packwood lost his last bid to keep his private diaries out of the hands of Senate investigators as Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on Wednesday refused the Oregon Republican’s request to shield the papers.

The embattled senator, accused of sexually harassing former employees, has contended that it would violate his “right to privacy” under the Constitution if he were forced to reveal his personal diaries.

But Rehnquist, acting alone, said it is “quite clear” that a majority of justices do not agree with that view of the law. Neither the 4th Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches nor the 5th Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination provides grounds for blocking a legitimate Senate subpoena, he said.

The chief justice noted that Packwood may have undercut his own case by “tampering” with the diary tapes and transcripts. This suggests an attempt to obstruct justice, Rehnquist said.

A former secretary, who since 1969 had transcribed Packwood’s taped recollections, told Senate investigators last year that some tapes and transcripts had been altered.

Wednesday’s court order clears the way for a former federal judge to begin examining the diaries to see what is relevant to the Ethics Committee inquiry. Kenneth W. Starr, a widely respected lawyer and former U.S. solicitor general in the George Bush Administration, was chosen by the Senate to review the diaries and eliminate strictly private matters.

In response to Rehnquist’s order, Packwood issued a statement saying that he is concerned about a “loss of civil liberties” demonstrated by his case.

“A precedent has now been set that will not protect the private thoughts and property of American citizens from government snooping,” he said. “No one’s private papers are safe.”

Packwood’s case will be the subject of a nationally broadcast television interview Friday night. In the interview, Packwood says he has had “professional counseling” for his drinking and sexual problems.

According to Senate investigators, 29 women, most of them former employees, have said that Packwood sexually harassed them.

During the interview, the senator says that he had “hugged and kissed and been hugged and kissed by hundreds of women, without sexual overtones to it” during his Senate career.