McFall's Fall

The scandal involving money gifts to U.S. Congressmen by South Korean Businessman Tongsun Park has claimed a casualty: California Democrat John J. McFall. As the current House majority whip, McFall, 58, was a long shot to become majority leader in January. But earlier this month he admitted a charge that an aide had denied before Election Day--namely, that he had received $3,000 from Park in $100 bills in 1974. McFall said that the gift was unsolicited and that he had put it into his congressional office account to buy supplies. Said he: "I don't know what [the $3,000] was for. It came about campaign time. I was under the impression that it was illegal to accept a contribution from a foreign national, so I put it in my office account. I'm not being bribed. I handled it legitimately."

McFall's indiscretion has knocked him out of any chance for the majority leader's job. Meantime, the probe of Korean influence continues. Tongsun Park himself left the country when the stories about his largesse began to break (TIME, Nov. 8); Justice officials, who need his testimony to frame indictments, worry that he may never return.

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