Ehrlich on Washington column, January 19, 1997

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of January 1 9, 1 997 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. THE STORY OF “CELLGATE” Over the past week, a new scandal has surfaced in Washington — one that threatens to derail the prospect of greater bipartisanship in the 105th Congress. Our story begins in Florida with a couple named John and Alice Martin - longtime activists in Florida’s Democratic Party. On December 21, the Martins were driving around listening to their police scanner when they intercepted a private telephone conversation between House Speaker Gingrich and others leaders of the House of Representatives (one of the participants used a cellular phone). The Martins — who, coincidentally, just happened to have a tape recorder in the car with them — recorded it. Why did they do it? At a televised press conference last week, they explained that they wanted the tape to be a present for their yet-to-be-bom grandchild. One can only assume that the local toy store ran out of “Tickle Me Elmo” dolls. The Martins sent the tape to their own Democratic Congresswoman, who referred them to Congressman Jim McDermott, the senior Democratic member on the House Ethics Committee. The Martins traveled to Washington where, in front of witnesses, they personally presented the tape to McDermott, who informed them that he would “listen” to it. Shortly thereafter, a transcript of the tape turned up on the front page of the New York Times, which reported that it had received the tape from a “Democratic Congressman.”