Word: packwoods
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...diaries, in fact, may turn out to be Packwood's greatest despair. After allegations erupted last November that the Oregon Republican had made uninvited sexual advances to 10 female staff members, Packwood first denied any sexual misconduct, then laid blame for his untoward advances on the influence of alcohol, raising both disbelieving hoots and doubts about his probity. As the number of women charging sexual harassment rose to 26, Packwood parried with threats to stamp scarlet letters on his accusers, bringing additional allegations of intimidation. Then last month, under questioning before the Senate ethics committee, Packwood disclosed that...
...come hints that besides the sexual-misconduct charges, Packwood may be guilty of criminal violations. In mid-October, he willingly surrendered some 5,000 pages of entries up through 1989. He also let the committee's counsel look at additional entries. After the counsel reported back to the bipartisan committee that those entries contained information pointing to possible misconduct unrelated to the current inquiry, the committee asked to see the remaining 3,200 pages. Packwood balked, charging an infringement of his right to privacy. The committee responded with a subpoena. Last week in a five-page statement, ethics committee chairman...
...leader Robert Dole. "This is almost a prejudgment here," said the Kansas Republican. "It seems to me it ought to be followed up with a charge or it ought to be retracted." As yet, the only hint of the nature of the alleged violations comes in a letter from Packwood's lawyers to Bryan that suggests a possible misuse of campaign donations...
...latest furor over Packwood is largely the result of his own bungling. When the ethics committee first subpoenaed the diaries on Oct. 20, many Senators questioned the propriety and legality of delving into someone's private writings. Packwood's attorney immediately let it be known that the diaries included entries that could lay bare the sextracurricular activities of at least two other legislators -- including a Senator's divorce and his "extended affair" with a staff member, and a liaison between a Senate aide and a member of the House leadership. Last week when colleagues shouted "Blackmail!" Packwood coolly responded...
...Packwood's undignified tactics upstaged Senators' concerns about Fifth Amendment safeguards against self-incrimination. Instead, many Senators fumed privately that the man who may already have been exposed as a letch, lush and liar was a lout as well. Says an ethics committee staff member: "The fact that ((Packwood)) stood on the Senate floor and issued a not-so-veiled threat against his colleagues has alienated a lot of people." (An unnamed woman, described by her lawyer as "prominent within the country," was equally unhappy, charging that the release of the diaries would cause "irreparable damage" to her reputation...