Editorial: Gibbons above the rules?

Wednesday, March 7, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

Members of Congress are within their rights to set up legal defense funds if they get caught up in allegations that they broke the law or violated ethical standards. But there are rules that must be followed.

Gov. Jim Gibbons set up a legal defense fund in November, when he was still a member of the House. And he did so without complying with House rules.

He was supposed to have first gotten permission from the House Ethics Committee. Provided that permission was granted, he was then supposed to have abided by quarterly reporting requirements, disclosing his donors and how much they had given.

A spokesman for the governor told the Associated Press on Monday that approval for the fund wasn't sought because Gibbons at the time was campaigning for a state, not a federal, office.

In our view that explanation is invalid. Gibbons was still subject to all House rules and should have either followed them to the letter, or received a legal opinion from a House attorney releasing him from the rules.

Gibbons established the fund following allegations in October by a woman who was part of a group of people he had been drinking with at a Las Vegas restaurant. She alleged that later that night, Gibbons grabbed her arms, pushed her against a wall and tried to coerce her into having sex. Metro Police did not substantiate the allegations and the district attorney's office dismissed the case.

Although Gibbons now says he will disclose details of his fund to the Nevada secretary of state's office, the fact remains that he ignored an important House rule established to avoid corruption.