Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 8, 1991 TAG: 9102080761
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The three committee Democrats are insisting that the panel treat the four senators essentially the same, possibly by sending letters of criticism to Sens. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz.; Donald Riegle, D-Mich.; John Glenn, D-Ohio; and John McCain, R-Ariz.
The three committee Republicans want McCain - the only GOP member among the Keating Five - and Glenn dismissed for lack of evidence that they violated Senate rules, the sources said Thursday. They would not be quoted by name.
The disagreement does not involve the fifth member of the Keating Five, Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif. The sources said there is general agreement that the case against him is strong and that the committee could recommend punishment by the full Senate.
The sources spoke after the committee, which began deliberating a week ago, recessed its private discussions until Feb. 19. The committee Democrats are Chairman Howell Heflin of Alabama, David Pryor of Arkansas and Terry Sanford of North Carolina. The Republicans are Vice Chairman Warren Rudman of New Hampshire, Trent Lott of Mississippi and Jesse Helms of North Carolina.
The Republican view on McCain and Glenn parallels the findings of committee special counsel Robert Bennett.
Bennett reportedly advised the committee in a confidential report last September that there was no evidence Glenn and McCain broke the rules. He concluded they should be dismissed from the case.
If Riegle and DeConcini were left in the case to be criticized, the committee would have two practical options: send a letter of rebuke or recommend a censure on the Senate floor.
A critical letter need not find a violation of standards of conduct and would likely be tailored to each individual's behavior.
Before sending a case to the full Senate, the committee must provide a statement of alleged violations and give the senator charged a chance to respond.
Keating and associates contributed $1.3 million to the campaigns and favorite political causes of the five senators, most of it while the Federal Home Loan Bank Board was investigating Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan.
The Irvine, Calif.-based thrift was seized by the government in April 1989, and it may cost taxpayers more than $2 billion to cover insured deposits.
All the senators except Riegle attended a meeting on Keating's behalf with then-Bank Board Chairman Edwin Gray on April 2, 1987. All five senators met a week later with four San Francisco-based regulators who were in charge of the Lincoln examination.
The committee has said, however, that individual actions by each senator would have the most influence on the panel's decisions.
by CNB