Whole Truth, and Nothing But : Secretary Brown, under fire over his business dealings, must come clean

U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown is one of President Clinton’s most popular and, by many accounts, most effective Cabinet members. He has earned respect in both political and business circles as he moves adroitly to expand the sale of U.S. goods and services abroad.

But undermining his reputation are persistent questions about his disclosures--or, some would say, lack of candor in his disclosures--about personal business deals and investments.

The latest questions arise from his investment in a troubled low-income apartment complex. The Times reported on Sunday that Brown inaccurately stated in two financial reports that the property, Belle Haven Apartments, is in Potomac, Md., when in fact it is in Landover, Md.

The property is part of a partnership with ties to A. Bruce Rozet of Brentwood, a major contributor to the Democratic Party who has a checkered reputation as an owner of housing for the poor and working poor. Belle Haven itself is a dismal, drug-infested complex.

Brown has been criticized on the ground that he has made selective disclosures about other business deals, too. Currently both a congressional committee and the Justice Department are looking into several business relationships because of omissions or errors on two disclosure reports he filed after being nominated to head the Department of Commerce.

Brown’s role in the business deals may be perfectly legal. But why the incomplete disclosures? Is he being duplicitous in telling only as much as he needs to or wants to about his business ventures? The sooner the President confronts Brown and the sooner the secretary makes public all the relevant information, the better.