Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, December 9, 1994                   TAG: 9412100040
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

GINGRICH INQUIRY PURSUED

Bonior, D-Mich., said Gingrich ``is faced with a conflict of interest'' in a complaint alleging that he misused his staff and abused tax laws in preparing and teaching a college course.

Gingrich, Bonior told a news conference, ``refused to recuse himself from naming members'' of the new Congress' Committee on Standards of Official Conduct - even though the committee could wind up investigating him.

Bonior previously attacked Gingrich's political action committee as a slush fund, criticized the firing of Democratic House staffers without compensation and assailed the Georgia Republican's suggestion that children of poor mothers be housed in orphanages.

``Right now, there are charges pending ... that Mr. Gingrich has engaged in a web of corrupt activities that allegedly violate the rules of the House ... as well as the federal tax code,'' Bonior said.

Gingrich has described the ethics complaint, filed by a political opponent, as nonsense. Gingrich spokesman Tony Blankley said Thursday he expected the current ethics committee to dispose of the matter this year.

``Mr. Bonior's request for an outside counsel is ill-considered. The matter is currently pending before the ethics committee of the [current] Congress. I fully expect that committee to favorably complete its deliberations in the time remaining to it,'' Blankley said.

Former Democratic Rep. Ben Jones accused Gingrich in the complaint of allowing donors to the course to receive tax deductions - even though the course promotes conservative Republican ideas.