With Sen. Bob Packwood deciding to fight sexual misconduct allegations rather than resign, the Senate filed suit in federal court Monday to enforce an ethics committee subpoena for the Oregon Republican's diaries.
The Senate asked that Packwood provide its ethics committee with "his transcribed diaries and untranscribed diary materials from Jan. 1, 1989, through July 16, 1993."If the Senate is successful, the diaries would go first to former U.S. Appellate Judge Kenneth Starr, who would review them to prevent the committee from receiving entries involving lawyer-client, doctor-patient or family matters.
The suit, stating that the Senate "has the constitutional duty" to deal with members who may have been guilty of misbehavior, contended the chamber "needs Senator Packwood's diaries to fulfill its responsibilities."
"In light of the committee's strong showing of need for his diaries, Senator Packwood has no Fourth Amendment right to withhold his diaries from the committee," the suit said, referring to Packwood's claim that producing the diaries would violate his constitutional right to privacy.
The Senate attorneys asked that the judge direct Packwood to state by Dec. 6 the reasons why he should not be required to turn over thousands of pages of documents from his personal diary to the Senate Ethics Committee. The Senate asked the judge to schedule a hearing the week of Dec. 13.
The suit comes a day after Senate Minority Whip Alan Simpson, R-Wyo., said a congressional leak that the Oregon senator was about to resign prompted a Justice Department subpoena for Packwood's diaries.
The Justice Department, meanwhile, opened its own investigation into allegations that Packwood had sought the assistance of a lobbyist in attempting to get his former wife a job.
Simpson said Sunday that the Justice Department subpoena for the same documents was prompted by a leak from the ethics committee staff.
Simpson said Packwood had decided not to resign and to fight the subpoenas.
"He was ready to resign, he wanted out," Simpson said.
But Simpson, a close friend of the Oregon Republican, said that when staffers of the ethics panel learned of Packwood's decision to resign they leaked word to Justice Department lawyers, prompting the subpoena for the diaries.
After that, Packwood "had no choice but to stay in the Senate" where he could better defend himself against possible criminal charges, Simpson said on CBS' "Face the Nation" program.