JOHN LINDER: “Whereas, a complaint filed against Representative Gephardt alleges House Rules have been violated by Representative…”

“Whereas, a complaint filed against Representative Gephardt alleges House Rules have been violated by Representative Gephardt's concealment of profits gained through a complex series of real estate tax exchanges and; Whereas, the complaint also alleges possible violations of banking disclosure and campaign finance laws or regulations and; Whereas, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has in other complex matters involving complaints hired outside counsel with expertise in tax laws and regulations and; Whereas, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is responsible for determining whether Representative Gephardt's financial transactions violated standards of conduct or specific rules of the House of Representatives; and Whereas, the complaint against Representative Gephardt has been pending before the committee for more than seven months and the integrity of the ethics process and the manner in which Members are disciplined is called into question; and Whereas, on Friday, September 20, 1996 the ranking Democrat of the Ethics Committee, Representative James McDermott in a public statement suggested that cases pending before the committee in excess of 60 days be referred to an outside counsel; now be it Resolved that the committee on Standards of Official Conduct is authorized and directed to hire a special counsel to assist in the investigation of the charges filed against the Democrat Leader Representative Richard Gephardt.”