WASHINGTON INSIGHT

BOUNCING BACK: D. Craig Livingstone, the former White House employee who supervised the office that snared hundreds of FBI files on Republicans, broke his silence with the media this week by telephoning a C-SPAN call-in program. In the three-minute call, the past director of White House personnel security protested that he had “been the subject of many lies” by Republicans and the press. He was especially piqued that former Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole had repeatedly described him on the campaign trail as a “bar bouncer,” as if that had been his last job before joining the White House. “I know Mr. Dole chose to vilify me and referred to me as a bouncer, a job that I had to do some 15 years ago because I’m a middle-class, working-class kid who had to pay for college,” Livingstone said. “I was also a janitor, I was also a pineapple peeler and I also did many other jobs, like working in the U.S. Senate.” These days, he said, “I’m working as a consultant and I’m trying to get on with my life.”

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UNDER OATH: How is this for timing? Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and the justices of the Supreme Court have announced they will hear arguments Jan. 13 in the case of Bill Clinton vs. Paula Corbin Jones. That case will decide whether the president, while in office, can be forced to answer under oath to her charges of sexual harassment. Exactly one week later, Rehnquist will meet Clinton on the west front of the Capitol to administer the oath of office at his second inaugural ceremony.

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COSTLY PROMOTION: Rep. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), who pitched in to help Clinton in the campaign at several points, has been mentioned as a top prospect for posts in the new administration, most notably to replace departing Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary. But some White House aides are saying that the prominent Latino’s chances may suffer because of an unrelated factor: Democrats already hold 22 fewer seats than Republicans in the House, and don’t relish the possibility of losing the New Mexico seat to a Republican in a special election.

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PULLING THROUGH: It shouldn’t have been so hard for Rep. Henry B. Gonzales (D-Texas) to hold on to the ranking minority slot on the House Banking Committee. After all, the sometimes outrageously outspoken legislator was its chairman when the Democrats ruled the House. But with a number of sensitive banking issues expected to arise in the 105th Congress, a pair of Democrats attempted to dislodge the 80-year-old Gonzales, who some felt lacked the vigor and focus the post requires. But he persuaded a coalition of black, Latino and loyal Democrats to support his reelection for the position. His return makes him one of the few Latino members to have a leadership job in the Congress.

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UNMENTIONABLE: After being reelected House speaker, Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) paused Wednesday to pay tribute to GOP incumbents who were defeated Nov. 5. Among those he mentioned were former Reps. Andrea Seastrand of Santa Barbara and Bill Baker of Danville. But one name didn’t cross his lips: Robert K. Dornan. Perhaps that’s because the warmer, gentler speaker disapproved of the language the Garden Grove lawmaker used this week in full view of a “Nightline” video crew preparing a report on his apparent defeat. In confronting GOP attorney William Dougherty, a member of the Orange County Republican Central Committee who had supported Dornan’s Democratic opponent, Loretta Sanchez, Dornan said: “You’re a disgrace to your baptism. You’re a poor excuse for a Marine. You’re a pathetic, old, senile man. You’re a slimy coward. Go register in another party.”