Congress: The Speaker On the Spot

Sleaze is a word the Republicans have had to live with for much of Ronald Reagan's second term. Now Edwin Meese will have some Democratic company in the public dock. The House ethics committee voted unanimously last week to investigate allegations of unethical behavior by House Speaker Jim Wright.

The panel will probe six actions, including Wright's pocketing of $55,000 in royalties for a book published by a printer who did $300,000 of work for the Speaker's last re-election campaign, and his use of an aide to help produce the book during office hours. Wright quickly released a 23-page refutation of the charges. He accused the 72 Republican Congressmen who demanded the inquiry of political motivations, ignoring the fact that Common Cause also had urged it.

The timing certainly was not propitious: Wright will become a household presence next month when he chairs the Democratic National Convention. The work of the twelve-member bipartisan committee is unlikely to be completed by the time the Democrats meet in Atlanta, but Wright's folksy style and saccharine smile may seem just a bit more strained than usual.