The events of the past week — President Clinton fighting a sexual harassment suit in the Supreme Court, Speaker Gingrich under investigation for violating tax laws and providing false information to Congress, and top House Democrats implicated in the illegal dissemination to the press of a tape of a cellular telephone call involving Gingrich — have brought the Washington scandal-and-ethics regime to a new level. At a moment of convergence like this one, it is wise to stand back from the partisan heat and reflect on its implications.

For instance, almost immediately upon hearing of the illegal tape recording, Republicans in the House of Representatives began calling for a Justice Department investigation and even a special prosecutor. Rather than use congressional power to smoke out the various hidden actors in this little melodrama in full public view and thus hold these elected officials accountable to the people who voted for them and the rest of the American people, the members will allow the matter to descend into the silence imposed by a proper criminal investigation. Isn’t the real issue here not the criminal activity, but the political activity and ideological motivation that gave rise to it? And isn’t the revelation and explanation of this matter the responsibility of the political process?