Hold A Seat Open On That Midnight Train To Georgia

House Speaker Newt Gingrich may not like to admit it, but his position is getting shakier by the month.

The House Ethics Committee ruling in the Gingrich case is likely to be the first in a series that will place Speaker Gingrich’s career in jeopardy.

The appointment of a special counsel to investigate Gingrich - by a unanimous vote of the Republicancontrolled Ethics Committee - was a big defeat for the speaker and an affirmation that some of the charges against him are serious and deserve a full, thorough investigation.

The Committee found Gingrich guilty - though it imposed no penalties - in three of the four other complaints that it acted upon. Taken together, it was a pretty telling statement.

As for the seriousness of the charges, judge for yourself.

On Gingrich’s apparent use of tax-deductible funds for partisan political propaganda disguised as a college course: “the Committee will hire a special counsel …”

On Gingrich’s lucrative book deal with Rupert Murdoch’s HarperCollins Publishers at a time when Murdoch had a major interest in legislation pending in the House: “The Committee strongly questions the appropriateness of what some could describe as an attempt by you to capitalize on your office.”

On Gingrich’s use of a private political consultant as de facto office staff: “The Committee has found that your use of Mr. Joseph Gaylord was in violation of House Rule 45, which prohibits the use of unofficial resources for official purposes. … Such activities, if they are continuing, should cease immediately.”

On Gingrich’s shameless huckstering on the House floor to advertise a line of audio and video products: “The House Floor should not be used for commercial purposes. … The Committee finds the use of a 1-800 number to be an improper solicitation.”

Still to come is the Ethics Committee ruling on our charge that Donald Jones, a telecommunications entrepreneur, apparently acted as a de facto staff person for the speaker on major telecommunications legislation and other matters. Jones has given more than $125,000 to the Republican party, and $25,000 to Gingrich’s own fund-raising vehicle, GOPAC.

Gingrich was wrong to allow a big contributor like that to work on legislation that directly affects his own business interests - as an insider working on Gingrich’s own staff. (How many ordinary citizens get to do that?) It’s like selling a staff position to the highest bidder.

Last week, Congressman David Bonior, D-Mich., filed an ethics complaint charging that “Newt Gingrich knowingly and willingly broke tax laws, election laws, bribery statutes, gift rules, and House rules” based on 8,000 pages of documents uncovered during the Federal Election Commission investigation of GOPAC.

The Federal Election Commission is suing GOPAC for refusing to disclose its contributors and the amounts they gave. The FEC charged that: “Hiding the identity of large contributors to organizations associated with elected officials … creates the appearance of corruption. … Indeed, this is exactly what GOPAC did …” What does Gingrich have to hide, and why is he hiding it?

Remember, these aren’t just $5 donors - at least seven donors have given more than $200,000 to GOPAC. One couple - Terry and Mary Kohler of Windway Capital Corp. - gave over $700,000. The public deserves to know who these big contributors are and how much they gave so that we might figure out what they may have received in return for their contributions.

Another Gingrich benefactor, Miller Nichols of J.C. Nichols Co. wrote a note to Gingrich attached to his $10,000 check to GOPAC that the federal government was causing his real estate company “a great deal of financial distress … in connection with the asbestos regulations.”

Gingrich’s thank you letter indicated that he would “look into” those “problematic asbestos regulations.” Gingrich later wrote to William Reilly, then the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, raising the asbestos litigation “crisis,” and sent a carbon copy to Nichols. Was that part of a payback for Nichols’s $59,000 in total contributions to GOPAC?

If there is a genuine and thorough investigation of GOPAC, Speaker Newt Gingrich will go the way of the corrupt former speaker, Jim Wright, D-Texas, into the history books.

The American people know that this is not just about ethics. This is also about character, and Gingrich’s conduct fails the character test.

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