Rep. Kim Surfaces to Say He’s Still Here for His Constituents

Outgoing Republican lawmaker Jay C. Kim, who closed his congressional offices a month before his term ends, resurfaced Wednesday to deny reports he abandoned his constituents and to add his voice to the impeachment debate roiling Washington.

Kim made the remarks in an interview published Wednesday by the Ontario-based Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. It was the congressman’s first public statement since the news last week that he had closed his offices in Yorba Linda, Ontario and Washington. Phone calls to his offices went unanswered, and there were no answering machines or forwarding numbers to assist callers.

Kim said he closed his offices upon the request of the General Services Administration, which manages federal offices, and that technical problems prevented telephone calls from being forwarded to a temporary office set up for the transition period.

On Wednesday, however, attempts to reach Kim were unsuccessful. Kim’s office phones now have answering machines, but voice mailboxes are frequently full, preventing many callers from even leaving messages.

Bill Blankenship, chief of staff for incoming Republican Rep. Gary Miller, said aides to Kim’s successor are still fielding calls from constituents who cannot reach the departing congressman.

“Constituents are calling to complain they can’t leave messages,” Blankenship said. Kim represents the 41st District, which covers parts of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. About 20% of his constituents live in Orange County.

In the interview, Kim also said he is inclined to vote against the impeachment of President Clinton, believing that a trial in the Senate would prove too harmful for the country.

“It’s going to be an international embarrassment,” Kim said. “It’s going to be a constitutional crisis, another O.J. Simpson trial, except it’s X-rated.”

Kim said that calls to his offices have been running slightly against impeachment, and that he would make his final decision after meeting with fellow GOP legislators.

In the interview, Kim said that the White House had not contacted him as part of its effort to gauge congressional support for the impeachment process. He speculated that the Democratic leaders may have assumed he would vote for impeachment.

However, Kim said he doubted that the required two-thirds of the Senate would vote for impeachment, making a Senate trial too costly for taxpayers.

“It [the president’s conviction and removal from office] is not going to happen,” Kin said. “He is going to survive anyway. Who’s going to be the big loser? We are.”

Kim, the first Korean American elected to Congress, spent two months last spring confined to his Virginia home after pleading guilty to campaign-finance violations stemming from his acceptance of $230,000 in illegal campaign contributions from foreign companies and corporations. He also pleaded guilty to felony violations on behalf of his congressional campaign committee.

Unable to visit his district before the June primary election, Kim lost to Miller in his reelection bid.