Robert William Packwood

Robert William "Bob" Packwood (born September 11, 1932) was a United States Senator from Oregon for the Republican Party. He was forced to resign in 1995 after allegations of sexual harassment of women emerged.

Packwood was elected to the Senate in 1968, defeating Wayne Morse. He was reelected in 1974, 1980, 1986 and 1992. Packwood chaired the powerful Senate Finance Committee from 1985 to 1987. He was chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, 1979-1980. His voting record was very moderate, which matched Oregon's tradition for electing mavericks to the Senate.

Packwood's political demise began in November 1992, when the Washington Post outlined detailed allegations of sexual misconduct by Packwood. By threatening legal action, Packwood was able to delay publication of the story until after the election, where he defeated NOW-endorsed Les Aucoin by a razor-thin margin. NOW took up the cause of at least 29 women who eventually came forward to allege sexual abuse and assaults, dating back over the years. The sexual abuse side of Packwood's problems, played up in the public media, obscured charges that he encouraged offers of financial assistance from lobbyists and other persons who had a particular interest in legislation or issues that Senator Packwood could influence. As the situation developed, he was also charged with trying to obstruct the investigation. Nevertheless, Bob Dole's PAC donated $10,000 to Packwood's defense.

The Senate decided against public hearings. With pressure mounting against him, Packwood finally announced his resignation from the Senate on September 7, 1995, after the Senate Ethics Committee unanimously recommended that he be expelled from the Senate for ethical misconduct.

Senator Packwood's diary became a key issue: whether a diary can be subpoenaed, whether Packwood attempted to blackmail his fellow senators with threats concerning the purported content of his diaries, and his blatant excisions from it.

External links

• Congressional Biography (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=P000009)
• Text of the Senate's resolution for investigation, May 17, 1995. (http://www.courttv.com/archive/legaldocs/government/packwood2.html)