PACKWOOD BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) met in private all day with the Senate ethics committee to answer charges that he engaged in a pattern of sexual misconduct spanning two decades, then altered his diaries to obscure the facts once the Senate began to investigate. "I'm happy to be doing this -- I'm glad to be doing this," Packwood said before closeting himself with the six-member panel. "It's just that you'd like to finish and get on with the rest of the business that I'd like to turn myself to." On May 16, the committee said it had found "substantial credible evidence" that Packwood had abused his office. Potential penalties range from an official rebuke or expulsion from the Senate, to a five-year prison term for obstructing a congressional investigation if he is found to have altered the diaries to block the probe. Both sides have until July 3 to request a hearing on the Senate floor to resolve the allegations.