How the Senate's Craig probe will work

Will the committee's hearings on Craig be open to the public?
Maybe, maybe not. The committee or the full Senate can vote to keep the hearings behind closed doors.

During the Packwood investigation, Boxer — at that time not a member of the Ethics Committee — argued that the committee ought to have public hearings, but the Senate voted to reject her proposal.

Later, on the day Packwood told the Senate he'd resign, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said there ought to have been public hearings.

“I believe the people who came forward with complaints were entitled to be heard, and I think Senator Packwood was entitled to have a defense,” Specter said.

Before he quit, Packwood complained that, “The committee has been the judge, jury and prosecution. This process makes the Inquisition look like a study in fairness."

What role did Craig play in the Packwood case?
Craig served on the Ethics Committee in 1995 and was one of those to vote to recommend Packwood's expulsion.

The Los Angeles Times reported that on Sept. 7, 1995, on the Senate floor after Packwood announced his intention to resign, he and Craig “shook hands and hugged one another. Then Craig began sobbing and quickly strode into the GOP cloakroom, his hands covering his face.”

What punishment could the Senate impose on Craig?
It could reprimand, denounce, censure or expel him.

If the Senate censured or expelled Craig, would he keep his congressional pension?
Yes, he would. Censure or expulsion are not in themselves actions that strip a senator of his pension.

If however, a senator were convicted of certain felonies, such as accepting bribes — which is not the case in Craig's misdemeanor plea — he would lose his pension, under a bill signed into law by President Bush last month.

Who was the last senator to be expelled?
Sen. Jesse Bright, D-Ind., was expelled in 1862 for supporting the Confederacy.

Who was the last senator to resign in the face of likely expulsion?
Packwood quit in 1995 after the Ethics Committee voted unanimously to recommend his expulsion for “repeatedly committing sexual misconduct" by forcing his attentions on numerous women, including some of his employees.

The panel also found that Packwood had tried to obstruct the Committee’s inquiry by altering evidence which the committee had subpoenaed.

What other types of charges has the Senate considered in past expulsion cases?
In 1907, the Senate considered a motion to expel Sen. Reed Smoot, R-Utah, on the charge of Mormonism.

There was no Ethics Committee in 1907, but the Committee on Privileges and Elections found that Smoot was not entitled to his seat because he was a leader of a religion that advocated polygamy and a union of church and state.

By a vote of 43 to 27, the Senate voted to not expel Smoot, because he met the constitutional requirements for serving as a senator.

In 1917, the Senate voted to not expel Sen. Robert La Follette, R-Wisc., who was accused of disloyalty after he made a speech opposing U.S. entry into World War I.

MORE FROM POLITICS

Politics Section Front

Reid tasks 10 senators to find public option fix CQ: More doctors might be Rx for House GOP Senate to confront abortion in health debate NYT: U.S. forecasts smaller loss from bank bailout Bernanke: Too soon to tell if recovery will last Impeachment debate in S.C. focuses on tryst Political strife over abortion   Climate talks open with pressure on U.S. U.S. donates gear needed in Afghan fight to Iraq ACORN prober: No illegal conduct on videos Politics Section Front   Add Politics headlines to your news reader: