Keating Five

IN 1990, THE U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics investigated charges that Senators Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald Riegle (D-MI) had improperly interfered with government investigators on behalf of Charles Keating who had become embroiled in savings and loan (S&L) banking scandals. Contributions from Keating to the five Senators had ranged from a few thousand dollars to more than $1 million. The five Senators strenuously objected to being lumped together and asked that each case be judged on its own merits. Nevertheless, it was almost a given that the press would view the five Senators as the “Keating Five” rather than as individuals. Objections were also made when the Senate investigating committee under the chairmanship of Republican Warren B. Rudman dealt with the five cases as a whole. In September 1989, the U.S. government brought criminal charges against Keating for fraud, racketeering and conspiracy, and the government took control of Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan.

Much of the attention during the Senate investigation centered around two meetings that the Keating Five had with four government regulators who were investigating Keating. The investigators claimed that they were intimidated by the five senators and insisted that the purpose of the meeting was to stymie the investigation. In their view, DeConcini had been the most “hostile” of the group. Questions inevitably followed about Keating's influence on various political decisions made by the five senators, and whether the senators had intentionally interfered with the government investigation.

The American public reacted to the Senate investigation of the Keating Five with a mixture of outrage and scorn. With only one Republican among the five Senators accused of misconduct, it was a foregone conclusion that the investigation would be acrimonious and highly partisan. Rudman, chair of the Ethics Committee, claimed somewhat hopefully that the Democratic party was on the verge of collapse after losing three presidential elections and insisted that this made Democratic committee members hostile to the entire investigation. Senate rules dictated that the Ethics Committee be made up of three members of each party to avoid partisan annihilation of Senators brought before [Page 477]the committee. The committee had the option of either voting as bipartisans or of reporting a partisan deadlock to the Senate, which would have damaged the reputation of the entire Senate.

A number of complaints arose over leaks about the committee investigation. Democrats on the committee insisted that the leaks were coming from the Republicans. They also objected to the fact that Republicans were inclined to treat McCain and Glenn with kid gloves at the same time they were bitterly attacking Cranston, Riegle, and DeConcini.

After nine months of investigation, the committee's special counsel recommended that charges be dropped against McCain, the only Republican in the group, and Glenn who was treated with special respect an a former astronaut and a war hero. As expected, the committee split along party lines, and rejected the recommendations.