Time Is Major Hurdle to Ruling on Gingrich

House Republicans face the embarrassing possibility that they will have to decide whether to reelect Rep. Newt Gingrich as speaker before lawmakers decide on his punishment for violating ethics rules.

With Congress closed for the holidays, members of the Ethics Committee, which must recommend the Georgia Republican’s punishment, are scattered around the world. They probably will not have time before the 105th Congress convenes Jan. 7 to sort out the complicated issues involved in the case and present a proposed sanction to the full House for a vote, according to congressional sources and independent experts.

“There is no way in God’s green acre they can finish this by Jan. 7,” said Ralph Lutkin, an attorney who served as chief counsel to the Ethics Committee during the investigation of former Speaker Jim Wright, a Texas Democrat. “There is a difficult series of procedural roadblocks, whether they want to rush forward or not.”

GOP leaders, however, insist the matter can be wrapped up by Jan. 7. They have unanimously rallied around Gingrich in recent days, telephoning the rank-and-file over the weekend to solidify support and sending lawmakers thick packets of information.

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Along with a sympathetic letter from Republican Conference Chairman John A. Boehner of Ohio, currently the fourth-ranking member of the GOP, Republican lawmakers received a copy of Gingrich’s mea culpa and the report by an ethics subcommittee laying out how he violated House rules by submitting false information and not seeking legal advice when he used a tax-exempt foundation for apparent partisan purposes.

“Newt’s willingness to acknowledge an unintentional mistake is refreshing,” Boehner wrote. “While the mistake is regrettable, it’s not significant enough to deny his continued service as speaker of the House, and we should look forward to working with him in that capacity after his reelection on Jan. 7.”

Even if Gingrich does become the first Republican speaker since 1929 to serve for two consecutive terms, many expect his clout to be diminished from two years ago, when he took the reigns of power after orchestrating the GOP campaign to seize control of the House.

“What he’s admitting to is not damaging enough to cost him the speakership, but almost certainly we’re going to have very acrimonious and partisan debates over this,” said Norman Ornstein, a congressional analyst with the American Enterprise Institute.

The GOP push to keep the troops in line appeared to be working, as no Republicans stepped forward with public challenges to Gingrich’s speakership. Still, it was the logistics of putting the case to rest before that Jan. 7 vote that worried GOP leaders.

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At least two members of the ethics panel were out of the country, their spokesmen said, and others were enjoying the holidays with their families back home. The head of the panel, Rep. Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.), was at home but prepared to return to Washington next week, an aide said.

“Members are scattered around the country, and the reality is they have to get back to Washington and read a great deal of information before we can proceed,” said an Ethics Committee source. “It will be difficult.”

Still, panel members were bracing for an end-of-the-year push to close the case.

“I am on standby until Jan. 7,” said Rep. Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.). “I have several airplane reservations to get me back to Washington at any time. I am just hopeful that it will not be on Dec. 25. Besides that, I just need 24 hours’ notice. I’ve been doing this morning, noon and night since August, and I’d just as soon get it behind me.”

Democrats feared that their colleagues from across the aisle might rush a penalty through the ethics panel and onto the House without full deliberations. The panel could issue a letter of reproval without any House action, but any higher sanction--from reprimand to censure to the highly unlikely expulsion from the House--would require the full body’s approval.

“We’ve diddled around for two years and now we’re in a great rush,” said a Democratic leadership aide. “They could do a dead-of-the-night, down-and-dirty hearing on New Year’s Eve, but there will be screaming like you haven’t heard screaming before. This ought to be a public hearing in which the case against Mr. Gingrich is laid out for everyone to see.”