Exit Jaworski

When former Watergate Prosecutor Leon Jaworski returned to Washington a year ago to conduct the House Ethics Committee's investigation of Korean influence buying he said: "There is another challenge to another institution of Government, and it's up to someone to ferret out the facts." Last week Jaworski decided to end his probe, with more questions unanswered than answered. The results are skimpy: four Congressmen facing disciplinary action, one former House member in jail and another former member facing trial for accepting gifts from Rice Dealer Tongsun Park.

Ten other Congressmen are suspected of having received money from former South Korea Ambassador Kim Dong Jo. But the Seoul government adamantly refuses to make him available for questioning by congressional investigators, even though the House has threatened to retaliate by withholding $56 million in foreign aid. "There is nothing more we can do," Jaworski said last week. "It has been decided at a very high level that under no circumstances will [Kim] talk. And so we're completely out of soap."

Jaworski will stay in Washington for a while longer, just to be sure that "nothing else turns up," before heading home to Houston. Even though his investigation cannot be completed, Jaworski believes it has had a salutary effect. The next time someone shows up in Washington trying to buy influence, he says, "Congressmen are going to think twice." qed

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