Word: gingriched
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There are some moments in Washington life when it seems as if the entire political class is conspiring to prove that the rules are...that there are no rules. The mayhem surrounding Newt Gingrich's ethical problems has that feel to it. In the past few weeks all the important lines of law and decorum have been crossed--by Gingrich, by House Republicans and Democrats, and above all by the members of the ethics committee charged with keeping those lines neat and tidy. The unusual $300,000 fine levied against the Speaker by the subcommittee that spent two years investigating...
When the committee handed down its verdict last week, Gingrich got off with a reprimand, not the censure that would have required him to step down as Speaker. If the full House goes along with the recommendation, that alone will make him the first Speaker in history to be disciplined in any way. But the report by committee counsel James Cole, which says that for years the Speaker flouted House standards of conduct, is tougher than many Republicans expected. And the surprising fine--which is supposed to cover the cost of additional investigation made necessary by Gingrich's slippery replies...
Chairwoman Nancy Johnson of Connecticut did her best to call the penalty "tough and unprecedented compared to past cases." It will be--if the fine comes out of Gingrich's pocket. In a brazen wiggle, his office left open the possibility that the fine could be paid from campaign contributions. That would render it all but meaningless; it would also open him up to the accusations made against Bill Clinton's legal-defense fund--that it's an open door for influence peddlers. In other words, an ethical problem...
Which is one more reason that everybody in Washington is wondering whether Gingrich will still be Gingrich once the dust settles. After two years of denying that he had done anything wrong, the Speaker admitted in December that he had failed to seek proper legal guidance before using contributions to his tax-exempt foundation to finance a college lecture course, one that even he said was aimed at the partisan goal of electing a G.O.P. Congress. He also admitted turning in false information to committee investigators...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to reprimand Speaker Newt Gingrich for actions damaging to the House, and ordered him to pay a fine of $300,000 to reimburse the House for extra work created by his deceptions. By a 395-28 vote, the House found that, "over a number of years and in a number of situations, Mr. Gingrich showed disregard and lack of respect for the standards of conduct that applied to his activities." The report of the ethics committee adopted by the House today specifically cited Gingrich's failure to get proper legal advice before...