
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 8, 1990                   TAG: 9003081972
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: associated press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Short

PANEL LIKELY TO DROP GINGRICH ETHICS PROBE

The House ethics committee will drop an investigation of Republican Whip Newt Gingrich, but not before criticizing his failure to disclose a home purchase, according to the lawmaker who triggered the probe.

Rep. Bill Alexander, D-Ark., who filed the ethics complaints against Gingrich, said the decision in the committee's closed session Wednesday was "a practical resolution of the matter."

The outcome was eagerly awaited on Capitol Hill, because Gingrich, R-Ga., was the chief accuser in the ethics investigation that led to the resignation last June of House Speaker Jim Wright, D-Texas.

Gingrich had no comment Wednesday, but he previously denied wrongdoing and denounced Alexander's allegations as retaliation for the complaint he filed against Wright.

Alexander had alleged that Gingrich committed hundreds of violations of House rules, including financial disclosure requirements, and also ran afoul of campaign finance laws. He filed the ethics complaints last April and October.

by CNB