Panel Rejects Bid to Query Packwood Accusers
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PORTLAND, Ore. — The women who have accused Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) of sexual misconduct won’t have to answer questions from his lawyer until the Senate Ethics Committee begins hearings on the matter, it was reported Saturday.
The committee turned down a request from Packwood’s lawyer, who wanted the panel to compel the women to talk to him, the Oregonian reported, quoting unidentified sources.
Packwood’s lawyer, Jacob Stein, said he received a letter about his proposal from the committee, but declined to discuss its contents.
The committee’s lawyers already interviewed the women.
The senator will receive transcripts of the interviews and a summary of all evidence before the hearings begin, and will be permitted to cross-examine the women during the hearings.
The committee is investigating accusations that Packwood made unwanted sexual advances, tried to intimidate witnesses and altered his personal diaries to obstruct the investigation.
Packwood has said he can only remember eight of the approximately two dozen women who have accused him of misconduct during the past two decades.
No date has been set for the hearings.
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