Wright Congratulates Chief Accuser

WASHINGTON —  House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.) sent his chief accuser in a House ethics inquiry, newly elected House Republican Whip Newt Gingrich, a copy of a book that figures prominently in the investigation of Wright’s conduct.

“Congratulations,” the Speaker said in his inscription. In a reference to Gingrich’s narrow victory in the whip’s race, he wrote: “And if you think a two-vote victory is thin, try it sometime with one, as I had to settle for in ’76 (when Wright was elected House majority leader). To be chosen by your peers is a great honor.”

Gingrich, after receiving the book, telephoned his thanks to the Speaker.

The arrangements for publication of the 1984 book, “Reflections of a Public Man,” and the royalties Wright received are part of the House Ethics Committee’s investigation of Wright. The committee is expected to release its report early next month.