Toricelli gets slap on the wrist by 'Ethics Committee"

Funny...

Traficant's in prison, Chang's in prison, Toricelli gets off scot free...

Senate Ethics Panel Rebukes Torricelli

Excerpts from article:

The Senate ethics committee, rendering one of the sternest condemnations of a member in recent years, "severely admonished" Sen. Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.) last night for accepting expensive gifts from a political donor-turned-convict.

In a sharply worded three-page rebuke, the committee chastised Torricelli for allowing David Chang -- a onetime friend who was later convicted of illegally funneling money to the senator's campaign -- to provide him with personal gifts when Torricelli was taking "official actions of benefit to Mr. Chang." Torricelli was instructed to repay Chang for some of the gifts, including a $1,900 big-screen television, a CD player and earrings.

The committee accused Torricelli of violating Senate ethics rules on three occasions, but it stopped short of asking the full Senate to censure or expel him. While a letter is less serious than a vote of censure by the Senate, the use of the word "severely" appeared to signal that committee members did not regard the offenses as trivial.

Torricelli's willingness to accepts gifts "evidenced poor judgment, displayed a lack of due regard for Senate rules and resulted in a violation of the Senate Gifts Rule, and, consequently, a violation of your public obligations," the committee said in its "letter of admonition."

The panel said it was "troubled by incongruities, inconsistencies and conflicts, particularly concerning actions taken by you which were or could have been of potential benefit" to Chang. It added: "Your actions and failure to act led to violations of Senate Rules (and related statutes) and created at least the appearance of impropriety, and you are hereby severely admonished."

Appearing in a nearly empty Senate chamber shortly before 8 p.m., a somber, subdued Torricelli apologized to his Senate colleagues and to the people of New Jersey, saying he fully accepts the committee's findings and intends to immediately comply with its call for restitution.

"I want my colleagues in the Senate to know I agree with the committee's conclusions, fully accept their findings and take full personal responsibility," he said. "I want to apologize to the people of New Jersey for having placed the seat in the United States Senate they have allowed me to occupy to be placed in this position."

But, in what appeared to be a signal of his political intentions this fall, Torricelli added: "I never stopped fighting for things I believed, I never compromised the struggle to make the lives of the people I love better." Afterward, his lawyer, Robert Bauer, called reporters to play down the severity of the admonishment, saying the committee went out of its way to say, in most instances, that Torricelli didn't knowingly break Senate rules.

The committee's findings are the culmination of the Justice Department's months-long investigation into the financing of Torricelli's 1996 Senate campaign. While Chang was convicted of illegally funneling $50,000 to Torricelli, the U.S. attorney's office in New York decided in January not to seek an indictment of the New Jersey Democrat. The office forwarded the results of its investigation to the ethics committee, which launched its own probe.

The ethics committee dismissed some of Chang's most damning allegations, including that, on more than a dozen occasions, he delivered $8,000 to $9,000 in cash to Torricelli's home. Chang also alleged that he bought Torricelli an expensive Scottish clock and several Italian suits. The committee was silent on these matters, questioning the veracity of Chang's testimony in general.

Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) said in a written statement: "It is now clear from the committee's extensive review and findings that the sensational allegations made against Sen. Torricelli by Mr. Chang have been proven false and without foundation."

More broadly, the committee condemned Torricelli for allowing Chang to influence him with gifts at a time when he was "involving Mr. Chang or his representatives in situations where you were meeting with officials of foreign governments."

While some cases presented to the ethics committee have resulted in no public actions, a few senators have been punished much more severely than Torricelli. The panel recommended expulsion in 1982 for Sen. Harrison A. Williams Jr. (D-N.J.) on corruption charges stemming from the Abscam investigation, and in 1995 for Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) for alleged sexual misconduct. Both men resigned rather than be expelled.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company