Ethics Panel Democrat Defends Rise In Assets

Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (W.Va.), the ranking Democrat on the House ethics committee, yesterday defended the surge in value of his real estate holdings and other assets from $562,000 in 2000 to at least $6.3 million in 2004, contending that he benefited from rising values and good investments.

Mollohan did not, however, explain how he came to make many of his lucrative investments in partnership with Laura Kuhns, a former congressional aide who now runs the Vandalia Heritage Foundation. The foundation is a historic preservation group financed mainly by federal earmarks sponsored by Mollohan.

In a statement, Mollohan said he and his wife, Barbara Whiting Mollohan, have seen the value of their investment grow "due to the surge in real estate values in recent years, particularly in the District of Columbia" and in North Carolina.

One of their major investments, which they have held since 1996, is in units they own in a Foggy Bottom apartment building.

Mollohan, whose statement refers to his wife and himself in the third person, said that in calculating his net worth it is important to recognize that he and his wife are heavily leveraged: "the value of their investments is considerably offset by corresponding mortgages on their properties. Their investment properties are heavily mortgaged, and in order to make new purchases, they have borrowed against their existing holdings."

In an April 8 front-page article, the Wall Street Journal detailed Mollohan's investments with Kuhns and her husband, Don, and the legislative earmarks Mollohan sponsored that have financed the Vandalia Heritage Foundation.

Republican leaders, who have struggled with Democratic allegations that they have fostered a "culture of corruption" in Washington because of the Jack Abramoff case, among others, immediately called on Mollohan to resign his ethics committee post. Mollohan denounced the Republicans' demands as politically motivated and said they were based on "spurious" charges.