Ethics Panel Beginning Packwood Inquiry

WASHINGTON —  The Senate Ethics Committee said Tuesday it is opening a preliminary inquiry into charges that Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) has made unwanted sexual advances to women staff members and lobbyists during his 24-year Senate career.

The panel also said it has asked Packwood formally to respond to allegations of sexual harassment forwarded to the committee by the Women’s Equal Rights Legal Defense and Education Fund on Monday.

The preliminary inquiry, conducted by committee staff members, will aid the panel in deciding whether to proceed with a full investigation of the charges.

The announcement came as a senior reporter for the Portland Oregonian disclosed that Packwood unexpectedly kissed her on the lips in his Senate office last March after she finished an interview with him.

The reporter, Roberta Ulrich, was described as “shocked” by the kiss, which was delivered in the presence of Lauri Hennessey, then Packwood’s press secretary.

“I considered it totally improper and inappropriate,” Ulrich was quoted in the newspaper as saying. “I have been in this business a long time and never have I had a public official do something like that.”

There was no immediate comment from the senator on the Oregonian’s disclosure. Packwood entered a treatment facility Monday for a weeklong evaluation of his drinking habits after he suggested that the women’s complaints were linked to his consumption of alcohol.

Ulrich, 64, said that she briefly discussed the stolen kiss with two editors at the newspaper but asked them to be cautious about repeating the story to others.

“She bitterly castigated herself for not sharply rebuking Packwood,” the newspaper said, adding that Ulrich felt embarrassed and guilty about the episode.

The reporter said the 60-year-old Packwood, who was divorced in 1990 after 27 years of marriage, drank two or three glasses of wine during their conversation in his office. She had one glass of wine and refused his frequent offers to refill her glass.

“She did not believe Packwood was intoxicated, nor did she consider the kiss a sexual advance but she was shocked,” the newspaper said in a front-page analysis of how it has covered allegations of sexual harassment against Packwood.

The Washington Post on Nov. 22 printed charges by 10 women that the Oregon lawmaker made uninvited sexual advances to them, with some incidents going back decades. Packwood, who was reelected last month to a fifth term in the Senate, has denied any recollection of the alleged incidents but has said he would welcome an investigation.

Packwood hired a Washington lawyer, James F. Fitzpatrick, to represent him in dealings with the Senate ethics panel.

The committee said it has not yet decided whether there is enough evidence to warrant an inquiry into similar charges of sexual harassment made against Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii).

Inouye was accused by his hair stylist of sexually assaulting her 17 years ago and a Hawaiian state legislator said she had additional names of women who have made similar charges against the lawmaker. Inouye has denied the hair stylist’s allegation. Despite the controversy, he was elected to a sixth term by an overwhelming margin last month.

The committee triggered the preliminary review of the Packwood case at the request of Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.).