Rumsfeld Seeks More Time to Sell Off Some Investments

WASHINGTON —  Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld has asked government ethics officials for another three months to divest personal holdings worth millions of dollars because he has been unable to find buyers, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Under federal ethics rules, senior administration appointees are required within 90 days of taking office to sell assets that could present a conflict of interest.

While a number of top Bush administration personnel have been forced to take big losses in such divestitures, Rumsfeld has special problems because about half of his assets are tied up in complex and illiquid partnerships.

According to his financial disclosure form, these investments are worth from $22 million to $99 million.

Although Rumsfeld’s attorneys and financial advisors have not been able to find buyers, “it’s not for lack of trying,” said Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, the chief Pentagon spokesman. Nonetheless, Quigley said he remained confident that Rumsfeld would be able to find buyers without “walking away” from the assets.

Often, investors in such partnerships are required to remain in them for many years--and to pay a sizable penalty for early withdrawal.

Rumsfeld valued his entire portfolio at from $50 million to $210 million. On Jan. 18, just before he took office, Rumsfeld signed a complex agreement with the Office of Government Ethics in which he promised to sell investments that could create conflicts of interest.

Because of the far-reaching activities of big government agencies, Cabinet secretaries often are required to sell off large shares of their holdings.