Lawmaker: Bribe offered for vote

WASHINGTON - Did someone try to bribe a Michigan congressman on the floor of the House?

That has been a frequently asked question in Washington this week after an allegation made by Rep. Nick Smith, R-Mich.

As first reported by syndicated columnist Robert Novak, the incident occurred during the three-hour House vote on the Medicare bill the morning of Nov. 22. Novak wrote that Smith was told by an unidentified Republican if he voted for the bill, business executives would contribute $100,000 to help his son, Brad, succeed him. Smith is not seeking re-election in 2004.

Such an offer probably would be a violation of federal law prohibiting bribery of elected officials.

Smith, who voted against the bill, acknowledges that Novak's story is "basically accurate." He has declined to name the person who made the offer, saying only that it was none of the most obvious possibilities: House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.; House Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas; or Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

Timothy Noah, columnist for slate.com, has called on Smith to say who made the offer. "Stop protecting him, congressman!" Noah wrote.

Smith's chief of staff, Kurt Schmautz, said the congressman has not told him the name of the person who made the offer. Asked if Smith thinks the offer was illegal, Schmautz replied: "I can't speak for him on that."

The incident allegedly occurred when Hastert held the House electronic voting machine open for nearly three hours and along with Delay and Thompson pressured rank-and-file Republicans to vote for the Medicare bill. President Bush also lobbied some members by telephone from the White House. The bill passed by a narrow 220-215 margin.

Smith was one of more than two dozen conservatives who refused to support the bill and argued that $400-billion is too much to spend on prescription drugs for seniors over the next 10 years.

"I thought I knew arm-twisting, serving 16 years in the Michigan Legislature and 11 years in the Congress," Smith said in a statement issued two days after the vote. "However, this was the most intense and strongest pressure to change my vote that I've ever experienced."

He said the people who were twisting his arm assumed "my vulnerability might lie" in his desire for his son to succeed him.

"I got significant promises for help for his campaign and threats they'd work against him if I voted no," Smith said. "Brad got word of the situation and called me and told me that he didn't want to go to Congress this way. He told me to do the right thing. That helped my resolve."

According to numerous media reports, Hastert, Delay and Thompson were frequently seen talking to Smith during the prolonged vote. The Washington Post described one such encounter:

"The broad-shouldered speaker, moving through the crowded aisles like a fullback, plumped down next to Smith, who is retiring next year after 40 years in a succession of public offices. Hastert threw an arm around Smith's shoulder and leaned in as Thompson moved into the seat on the other side. Aides recounted that Hastert said Smith's help was vital to the party and the president - a fitting gift at the end of a long career - and suggested it would also help Smith's son, who plans to run for the seat."

Neither Smith nor Novak could not be reached for comment on the source of the alleged bribe.

This is the second time this year that a report by Novak, a conservative Republican, has stirred allegations of wrongdoing by the GOP. The Justice Department is trying to determine who in the administration may have violated the law by telling Novak last summer that the wife of retired diplomat Joseph Wilson was a CIA agent.

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