The Ghost of Standards Past

Before he was speaker of the House, Rep. Newt Gingrich laid out an unyielding standard of public conduct for the person who held that post. In 1988 and ‘89, Gingrich didn’t equivocate about what he thought of Speaker Jim Wright (D-Texas), who was under investigation by the House Ethics Committee after he was alleged to have strong-armed lobbyists into buying large numbers of a book he had written.

Gingrich argued that Ethics Committee investigations of a speaker must “meet a higher standard of public accountability” than those involving lesser members of the House. He argued that reports made during such investigations should be released to the public before the Ethics Committee had issued a final ruling, because “it’s vital that we establish as a Congress our commitment to publish and release those documents so the country can judge whether the man second in line to the president, the speaker of the House, should be in that position.”

Gingrich said that Wright should step down until the ethics case against him was resolved. In 1989, the Texan was forced to resign his position.

Fast-forward to 1996: Gingrich now admits he violated congressional ethics rules and misled the Ethics Committee in relation to several tax-exempt charitable organizations and to his “Renewing American Civilization” college course. He taught the course from 1993 to 1995 with financial support from a tax-exempt organization and from GOPAC, a political action committee he once headed. Gingrich admits that “inaccurate, incomplete and unreliable statements” were given to the Ethics Committee.

Gingrich made these admissions, denying any intent to mislead, in order to avoid the alternative: facing a fact-finding hearing before the full House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

The Ethics Committee has options ranging from taking no action at all to an unlikely call for the Georgia Republican’s expulsion from Congress. Gingrich also faces a House vote on whether he should have a new term as speaker. While most of his Republican colleagues appear solidly behind him for the moment, his ability to hold onto the leadership post is uncertain.

One thing is clear. If Speaker Gingrich in 1996 were to be held to the Gingrich standard of 1988-89, there would be less doubt about the outcome.