Jim Wright

Jim Wright, a Democrat who served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989, resigned from Congress in June 1989 following a lengthy House Ethics Committee investigation. The inquiry centered on allegations of financial misconduct, specifically involving the bulk purchase of his book, Reflections of a Public Man, by political associates and lobbyist-connected entities, which critics characterized as a scheme to circumvent campaign finance laws. Additional charges investigated whether his wife’s employment with a business partner, George Mallick, constituted a disguised gift or improper compensation. Wright maintained that the charges were flawed, but he resigned to avoid further political acrimony. Earlier in his career, his 1948 reelection bid featured accusations of being a communist and supporting interracial marriage, which he dismissed as smear tactics.