The Nation - News from July 26, 1988

The House Ethics Committee today is expected to name Richard J. Phelan, a past president of the Chicago Bar Assn., to serve as special counsel in its investigation into the financial dealings of Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.), the Washington Post reported. Congressional sources said that Phelan enjoyed the support of most of the six Democrats and six Republicans on the ethics panel. But, the sources said, Phelan’s ties to the Democratic Party could trigger some opposition to his appointment. An aide to Rep. Newt Gingrich, whose formal complaint to the ethics panel in May triggered the investigation of Wright, described the Georgia Republican as “outraged” by the apparent decision to appoint Phelan to conduct the probe.