[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 93 (Thursday, June 8, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H5695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONCERN FOR THE REPUTATION OF THE HOUSE RAISED BY UNRESOLVED QUESTIONS 
                         ON SPEAKER'S BOOK DEAL

  (Mr. THOMPSON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today out of concern for the 
reputation of this institution. It is devastating when the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives does not stand by his words. Newt Gingrich 
announced earlier this year that he would not sign his book deal with 
Rupert Murdoch until the Ethics Committee had approved the contract. 
The jury is still out. And what has the Speaker done? He has ignored 
the Ethics Committee and signed the contract anyway. Maybe the Speaker 
knows something that we do not know. Is it because every single 
Republican on the Ethics Committee has a conflict of interest in the 
Speaker's case? Is it likely that they cannot be credible as judge and 
jury?
  Mr. Speaker, how can Newt Gingrich make such an outrageous claim, 
that if the Ethics Committee has not finished its deliberations, then 
he will assume that no rules have been broken. The Ethics Committee 
clearly said to the Speaker not to make such an absurd assumption. Once 
again, the Speaker has demonstrated that he will not allow the Rules or 
the Ethics Committee to stand in the way of his multi-million-dollar 
book deal. Is this the same person who led the call for an 
investigation of the former Speaker of the House, Jim Wright? I ask 
today, out of fairness to the American people, appoint an outside 
counsel. What's good for the goose is also good for the gander.


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