Word: subpoenae
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History is against Packwood, for no senator in modern times has opposed a subpoena for personal Papers. Although the Senate has not expelled anyone since the Civil War, Packwood may very well be the first. "In the end," as Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said in an interview with The New York Times, "the vote will not be based on ethical or legal questions, but on the politics of the moment. Do you want to be perceived as having voted for a cover-up?" With the specters of Watergate and Iran-Contra still haunting government and another election year just...
...diaries. His reflections, whether personal or profound, belong to him and him alone. This debate should not fester in the public arena any longer, for the leaders of this country certainly have better things to do. If Packwood decides to work through the federal court system to challenge the subpoena, lawyers say he could delay action for up to two years. Another two years of "Bob Packwood" headlines will not appeal to Americans searching for good and responsible government...
...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 amateur Samuel Pepyses, who scribble in faith that their scribblings will remain private...
...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...
...bombshell speech on the Senate floor, Oregon Republican Bob Packwood declared that the ethics committee investigating him on charges of sexual misconduct should not subpoena his diaries -- because that would raise serious privacy issues and because the diaries contain accounts of the amorous affairs of other members. In a blistering counterattack, the committee declared it needed the diaries to look into possible crimes unrelated to the harassment accusations. A flustered Senate considers whether to seek enforcement of the subpoena this week...