2 4 5 7 8 9 Committee on Standards of PENDING BUSINESS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1980 House of Representatives, Committee on Standards of Official Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to other business, at 10:52 a.m. in Room 2237, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Charles E. Bennett (chairman) presiding. 10 11 12 133 Present: Representatives Bennett, Hamilton, Preyer, Rahall, Spence, Hollenbeck, Livingston, Thomas, Stokes, Also present: Representative Henry B. Gonzalez. E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., and Allen Snyder, Special Counsel; Repre15 sentative John W. Jenrette, Jr. Kenneth Robinson, Counsel; 14 16 Dennis Hart, Co-counsel. John M. Swanner, Staff Director. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The Chairman. The committee will come back into session. At this point I would like to ask, since the question has been asked of me by other people, whether Congressman Jenrette and his counsel wish or do not wish to have this in open session. Mr. Robinson. We specifically request that we have open session so everyone can hear all the testimony and arguments and questions of the committee members. 13 Do you wish to have the TV in here at the same time? him here except us. 15 16 17 We have no objection. Anyone who wants to attend, we welcome The Chairman. I have no objection to the media coming Somebody can advise them they can come in if they want to. This hearing at this time is to allow Mr. Jenrette to make any statement he would like to make before the comittee. Mr. Robinson. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of Mr. Jenrette, as discussed previously, at this time prior to any decision on Mr. Jenrette's part as to whether or not he will make a state 1 ment at this time, we would like to raise three motions which 2 we filed this morning. Copies, I believe, have been submitted 3 to the members of Congress and should be before you. The Chairman. They haven't been submitted to me, to my 9 Mr. Robinson. The Chairman. I beg your pardon. I see they are on my They should be before you there, Your Mr. Robinson. I apologize for having filed them this morning, but one of our complaints is that we are moving too hastily in this matter. We had just gotten notice, as the com mittee knows, last week that we would be here today. We filed something in writing. On Monday we got the printed record and these little gray books yesterday, which is the, purportedly, trial transcript, part of it is. The Chairman. An expeditious way of handling it would be for you to read each motion. We will take action on the motion. Why don't you read the motion. Mr. Robinson. I will do that, but I would like to first state, if it please this committee, I feel that, first, that these 12 members, you 12 members of Congress, are sitting here as sort of a combination of judge and jury. You are either a jury or you are a court sitting en bank. I notice that two 1 members are not here, and I feel that before we proceed any 2 3 4 6 8 9 10 11 12 further, that it would be appropriate for each member of the committee to recess quietely and read the motions, so that there can be questions asked. This motion which we have dealing with deferring preliminary inquiry or deferring disciplinary hearings until another time deals with some very serious legal matters. I don't think we can discuss those, Mr. Chairman, by me reading them out loud, and then having a voice vote. I don't think any jury nor does any court of appeals or trial court or 3-judge panel ever rule in such a way. They digest what is there, and I am not trying to be critical, but if I have 13 14 15 there should be a brief recess to be critical, I have to speak on Mr. Jenrette's behalf. what has been filed. 16 17 There is some very serious matter in these particular motions, and I don't think that we should have to make any kind of decision at this point on whether or not Mr. Jenrette will or will not make a statement, until we have some clear rulings on the record, with even a polling of the jury, so to speak, as to who has read what, so that when we go to the Congress, if we have to end up up there sometime, that the members of the Congress can see that any decision by this com 25 mittee was made by votes of each committee member, based on 25 1 2 3 certain matters that each committee member had reviewed, and we don't want the wrong impression to be communicated, that everyone has read and reviewed everything, unless it is a 5 I am not trying to be critical, but that is what lawyers. are supposed to do. The Chairman. Without any effort, you are doing pretty Mr. Robinson. I know, but smme lawyers have to be criti cal to serve the cause of justice. The Chairman. The final decision, however, rests with me, and I already told you the procedure I wanted you to follow. Mr. Robinson. You want me to read these motions? The Chairman. I want you to read one motion at a time. As to what we do after you read it is another matter, but that is what I want you to do. The Chairman. Or you can have somebody else read it for you, if you desire. Mr. Robinson. I will read. I am not as good a reader 21 as Mr. Hart, but he can help me on some of the big words. "Respondent John W. Jenrette respectfully petitions the 25 Committee for an extension of time in which to submit documents 25 |