Saddle-gate

When reviewing Page-gate this morning, the Argus Leader also discusses a matter from the 1970s known as "Saddle-gate." Excerpt:

A 1970s incident became known as Saddlegate, when three House members in a party mood helped themselves to a trophy saddle of Casey Tibbs on display in the old Falcon restaurant. They took it to their hotel and took turns riding it, they said. They were embarrassed by the press coverage, but never charged with theft and never punished by their peers.

Jim Fry, director of the Legislative Research Council, said a legislator in the 1970s was investigated to see if he lived in his district when he ran for office. Others were investigated after earning especially narrow victories in elections.

"But in recent memory we don't remember any disciplinary action," Fry said. "In the modern era, current recollection is no one's been expelled."

That precedent can be taken two ways - as a sign the Senate should be lenient or as a mandate to take action to preserve a record that Hoover calls "almost pure."