61.   Ruskin said he believes the ethics panel should rely on its own investigators to initiate investigations, rather than wait for politicians to file complaints.

62.   Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., said it would be up to the ethics panel to decide if the hearings should be open.

63.   The committee met in a hot, ornate hearing room, packed with cameras, reporters and a handful of House members who are not on the ethics panel.

64.   The ethics panel has had a subcommittee investigating the charges for the past two years.

65.   The ethics panel now has four Democrats and four Republicans.

66.   The ethics panel released a letter from Gingrich along with a summary of his alleged violations, and was expected to hold a hearing on penalties later.

67.   The ethics panel voted to make its findings available to the Justice Department for a possible criminal investigation, but not to request such a probe.

68.   The ethics panel is investigating whether GOPAC, financed by contributions from donors around the country, improperly financed a college class taught by Gingrich.

69.   The ethics panel threw out one of the complaints against Gingrich, however.

70.   The ethics panel determined that Gingrich improperly used tax-exempt donations to fund a series of college course video tapes that were sent to Republican political candidates nationwide.