Washington: Facing a House Reprimand

Said Republican Congressman George Hansen of Idaho last week: “It is no fun trying to be responsible in the irresponsible atmosphere of the nation’s capital.” No fun, indeed. Two weeks ago, Hansen, 53, was sentenced by a federal judge to serve five to 15 months in prison and pay a $40,000 fine for filing false financial-disclosure statements to Congress. Last week the House Ethics Committee delivered a different rap, this one to Hansen’s knuckles as it recommended that he suffer the formal reprimand of the full House for his crimes. During that hearing, the unrepentant Hansen exclaimed, “I should have robbed a bank! I would have had the money, and not as big a penalty.”

The committee had other options, including recommendation of a motion of censure, a heavy fine or even expulsion from the House. Hansen had failed to report several large-scale financial transactions totaling some $334,000 over four years, including a concealed loan of $61,000 to his wife Connie from Texas Billionaire Nelson Bunker Hunt in 1978. Hansen, who voluntarily refrained from voting in the House after his conviction, was the first convicted felon permitted to continue serving in that chamber since Michigan Democrat Charles Diggs was convicted in 1978 for diverting employees’ salaries to his own use.