Word: packwoods
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...Packwood's clumsy attempts to elude further scrutiny of his diaries served only to fuel the ethics committee's determination. By midweek, the committee convinced the Senate leadership to schedule a chamber-wide debate on its subpoena of the full diaries. The debate this week, which will be followed by a vote, will determine if the Senate proceeds to U.S. district court to enforce compliance. Plainly hoping to calm jitters and win votes, Bryan dismissed Packwood's suggestion that other Senators might be caught in a diary dragnet. "There is no witch hunt or fishing expedition under way," Bryan said...
...committee does have an interest, however, in pursuing information that falls beyond the scope of its immediate inquiry. At present, Packwood faces three charges: sexual misconduct, intimidation and misuse of staff. Packwood maintains that it is "unfair and probably unconstitutional" for the committee to disclose incidents unrelated to those charges. In a letter to Bryan, the American Civil Liberties Union concurs: "The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that Congress cannot use its subpoena power to view material relating to private affairs that goes beyond the scope and purpose of a particular inquiry." Bryan counters that Packwood was specifically informed that...
Still, many constitutional scholars are disturbed by the committee's claims of unfettered access to Packwood's writings. "By definition, a diary is a conversation with yourself," says Stephen Gillers, a professor of ethics at New York University School of Law. "Allowing the state to get your diary is allowing the state to get into your mind." Professor Yale Kamisar of the University of Michigan Law School adds, "Why should a person have to divulge self-incriminating statements merely because he chose to write them down rather than keep them sealed in his head...
...unclear if Packwood's diaries are primarily private musings or notations about his public life, like the journals of Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Even if Packwood's diaries contain a considerable number of personal entries, some scholars argue, the writings are not automatically protected. "You have to show some constitutional immunity, some privilege against self-incrimination or free speech or freedom of association," says Jesse Choper, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. "As a general proposition, a court can subpoena records that contain reference to criminal conduct." Such legalistic caveats cannot fail to crimp...
...will be all the more uncomfortable for Senate members if some of Packwood's jottings implicate them in criminal acts. As it is, Senators who vote in support of the subpoena risk being accused of trampling on Packwood's civil liberties. Those who vote the other way risk being accused of protecting their own hide. Either way, the Senate stands to look the way it did two years ago when Anita Hill visited its chambers: incapable of dealing effectively with charges of sexual harassment...