ROANOKE TIMES 

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

DATE: FRIDAY, August 4, 1995                   TAG: 9508040065
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

PACKWOOD INVESTIGATION RENEWED

The Senate Ethics Committee on Thursday discovered two overlooked charges of sexual misconduct against Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., and voted to investigate them and delay publication of the evidence against him.

The committee revealed no details of these two complaints, either what happened, when they happened, when the complaints were made or the circumstances under which they had been first overlooked and then discovered.

But officials who have seen the charges said they did not differ dramatically from the 18 cases of groping, grabbing and kissing between 1968 and 1990, which the committee disclosed on May 17, saying it had found ``substantial credible evidence'' that his actions had brought discredit on the Senate.

Thursday's decision that more work was needed appeared to contradict the assertion made Wednesday by the committee's chairman, Sen. Mitch McConnell. He told the Senate that the committee's staff had assured the panel ``that the record was not just complete; it was encyclopedic and ready for final decision.''

McConnell, R-Ky., made that argument in a successful effort to block an attempt to force the committee to hold public hearings. A spokesman for McConnell said Thursday night that the chairman only learned of the two additional complaints Thursday.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who is a member of the Ethics Committee, said she and her colleagues were surprised to learn of the two complaints at Thursday afternoon's committee meeting.

Thursday's meeting had been called to begin discussing what punishment of Packwood the committee might recommend. But after Wednesday's Senate vote against forcing hearings, committee members quickly agreed that it would look bad if they did not go into the two additional charges the staff put before them Thursday.

The committee's vice chairman, Sen. Richard H. Bryan, D-Nev., said Wednesday that the committee's evidence on the initial charges would be released to the public next week.

But the statement issued by the committee Thursday said it would use the August recess to ``pursue these new allegations, so that the record is complete. The committee expects to conclude the case and release the full public record early in September.'' 


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