In Search of a Way Out

By Jill Smolowe

The harder Senator Bob Packwood struggles to salvage his career, the deeper he sinks into the mire. First, his efforts to contest charges by 10 women of uninvited sexual advances spawned at least 18 new accusers and Senate charges of sexual misconduct. Then his attempt to discredit those charges by producing portions of his personal diaries unwittingly bred suspicions of other misdeeds: political-favor peddling. His campaign to reseal the diaries gave rise to an overwhelming Senate vote to subpoena the writings. Finally, just as Packwood was coming to the conclusion that he would have to resign, he discovered he had flailed too long. Administration sources say the Justice Department has impaneled a grand jury to begin a criminal investigation into possible ethics violations.

Now, even if Packwood packs up his political career to avoid further Senate scrutiny, he is likely to remain mired in the Justice inquiry for many months to come. Last Friday rumors swirled that Packwood was set to resign any minute, having hammered out a deal with Senate Republican leaders to exchange his resignation for assurances that no further legal action would be taken against him. By Friday evening there were new reports: Packwood had shelved that plan after he was served with a subpoena on his way to the Senate floor at the behest of the Justice Department's public-integrity section. A Justice official said the subpoena "may have inadvertently knocked things off track," but denied that the department had acted with any intention of thwarting a deal between Packwood and his Senate colleagues. "It's just a stroke of lousy timing," the official said.

Both waves of rumors were tripped off by a report in the Portland Oregonian that pointed to the specific entry in Packwood's diaries potentially linking him to criminal violations. The account stated that the ethics committee had decided to subpoena the diaries after spotting a reference to questions raised by Packwood during a November 1989 finance subcommittee probe into trade barriers erected by Japanese companies. A transcript of the hearing, which the Oregonian says is now under review by the Senate legal counsel, shows that Packwood's questions had the effect of defending Mitsubishi Electric against an attack by a U.S. competitor, Fusion Systems Corp.

At the time, former Packwood staff member Steven Saunders was a registered foreign agent for Mitsubishi. Saunders was one of four friends who offered Packwood's ex-wife Georgie a job after the couple separated in January 1990. It is now believed that both the Senate and Justice inquiries seek to determine if the move was designed to spare Packwood large alimony payments by giving Georgie employment.

As the Senator headed into what many colleagues quietly hoped might be his last weekend in office, Packwood was still insisting that he had no plans to resign. But his isolation was deepening. He risks losing private support for his legal defense, which has already cost $800,000. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Packwood had received 243 donations from officials at some 15 corporations, totaling $275,000. His female accusers, by contrast, have raised only $25,000. Angry consumers then threatened to stop doing business with the offending companies. As those companies, MCI, Eli Lilly and Seagram among them, scrambled to offer justifications, it seemed unlikely that many new donors would wade into Packwood's swamp.

With reporting by Julie Johnson/Washington and John Snell/Portland