The book could be an amusing little present for lawyers but it also provides a lot to think about on a much deeper

The book could be an amusing little present for lawyers but it also provides a lot to think about on a much deeper level".. Newt Gingrich yesterday became the first Republican to win a consecutive term as House Speaker in 68 years, but in a fashion and by a margin which only underscore how his ethical problems will continue to dog him throughout the 105th Congress which he formally inaugurated. After a final personal plea for support from his colleagues, and non- stop lobbying by the party leadership to limit defections, the controversial Georgia Republican defeated his Democratic opponent, the minority leader Dick Gephardt, by 216 votes to 205, while 14 members either abstained, backed alternative candidates, or did not vote. For all the arm-twisting therefore, Mr Gingrich failed to win the outright majority of 218 that should have been guaranteed by the 227-208 overall Republican majority in the House. Minutes later a chastened Speaker delivered his own mea culpa in an acceptance address that could hardly have contrasted more with the boastful, all-conquering figure who took took office two years ago. In 1994 Newt Gingrich led a proclaimed radical "Republican revolution" Yesterday, he humbly spoke of "this very difficult time ...

to the extent I was too pushy, too self-confident, or too brash, I apologize. To whatever degree I brought controversy or inappropriate attention to the House, I apologize."But contrition alone will not suffice. Within the next fortnight the House will hear a detailed report on Mr Gingrich's acknowledged transgressions. These include misleading the House Ethics Committee, and wrongly using tax-exempt donations to finance a politically partisan college course which he taught until 1993. Then the committee and the full House must decide his punishment.As the vote approached, the air on Capitol Hill dripped with old-fashioned parliamentary suspense, as Republicans desperately tried to rally support behind their embattled standard bearer and Democrats sought to postpone the vote and nominate an interim Speaker until final judgement on Gingrich's sins.

That manoeuvre was beaten by Republicans, 220 votes to 210, but the final vote was no ringing endorsement.Of the 227 Republicans only 216 backed the Speaker. Two voted for Jim Leach, the highly respected chairman of the House Banking Committee, one of the Speaker's five declared Republican opponents, two more backed other candidates and six abstained. But there was no disguising the nervousness of many other of Mr Gingrich's peers at marching to the party gun before they knew the full facts of the case.Adding to their discomfort was awareness they were supporting the least popular public figure in the country. One poll this week found that by a 65 per cent to 23 per cent, Americans wanted Mr Gingrich to step aside, a view shared even by 51 per cent of Republican voters.Either way, therefore, the Democrats come out ahead. If the Speaker had gone down, they would have scored a huge symbolic victory, exacting revenge for the 1989 downfall on ethics charges of their own Speaker, Jim Wright, after a campaign by a bare-knuckled Republican backbencher named Newt Gingrich.Now that he stays on, he will be a tarred and inevitably reduced figure, less able to bargain from strength with the White House and even with his own barons, the Republican House Committee chairmen. Better still from a Democratic viewpoint, his continuing travails will be cover for President Clinton, embroiled in a host of ethical controversies of his own..

The Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison yesterday for cheating on her taxes, laundering call-girl profits and conspiring to hide her crimes. Fleiss, 30, told the judge before sentencing that she was remorseful. Her defence lawyers had asked that she be given an 18-month sentence at a boot-camp style facility. Fleiss will serve her sentence in a minimum-security prison in Pleasanton. The judge also fined Fleiss $400 (pounds 250), and ordered that she serve three years probation and 300 hours of community service, and attend a substance- abuse programme. One of Fleiss's sisters cried during sentencing, but Fleiss and her father, Dr Paul Fleiss, remained stoical. Her father, a pediatrician, served one day in prison and paid a $50,000 fine for helping his daughter hide the call-girl profits."When you are released from custody, hopefully you'll do many of the things you've dreamed about," District Judge Consuelo Marshall told Fleiss. "I believe you'll be a positive role model for other young women just by the experiences you've had."Earlier, Fleiss made an emotional address to the judge: "I wish I had the words to tell you how very sorry I am.