Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 3, 1993 TAG: 9311030212
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The 94-6 vote came after two days of wrenching debate over whether Packwood's rights were being violated, and shortly after one lawmaker called on the Oregon Republican to "have the grace" to resign his seat of a quarter-century.
"I believe he [Packwood] has lost his grasp of what it means to be a U.S. senator," said Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.
The vote came on a bid by the Senate ethics committee to enforce a subpoena for Packwood's diaries that the senator has so far defied. Thus armed, the committee is expected to seek to enforce the subpoena in court - a move Packwood's lawyer said he is likely to contest.
"At this point, I think our inclination is to resist the subpoena on the grounds it exceeds the Fourth Amendment rights of the committee," Packwood lawyer James Fitzpatrick said.
The six senators who voted against full disclosure were Packwood; Republicans John Danforth of Missouri, Jesse Helms of North Carolina, Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania; and Democrat Dennis DeConcini of Arizona.
The vote came shortly after the Senate voted 77-23 against Sen. Alan Simpson's proposal to narrow the scope of the committee's subpoena to "relevant" information. The information pertained to alleged sexual misconduct, intimidation of witnesses and Packwood's attempt to get his wife a job.
Simpson called the committee's request so broad as to be "frightening." Instead, they accepted the argument of committee leaders that anything less than full compliance would let Packwood determine what is "relevant."
by CNB