House Post Office Probe to Include Rostenkowski : Congress: The federal grand jury also is slated to question two Pennsylvania Democrats and the former sergeant-at-arms.

WASHINGTON —  A federal grand jury investigating the House post office scandal has widened its probe to include Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and two other lawmakers, House leaders disclosed Thursday.

In a major escalation of the investigation, the grand jury subpoenaed Rostenkowski’s expense records, along with those of two Pennsylvania Democrats, Reps. Austin J. Murphy and Joe Kolter, and ordered all three men to appear before the panel for questioning.

It also subpoenaed Jack Russ, former sergeant-at-arms of the House, who also has been named in allegations concerning the now-defunct House bank. The subpoenas involving all four men call for expense records going back at least six years.

The series of actions, disclosed Thursday by House Republicans, marked the first time that members of Congress have been implicated in the post office investigation. Until now, the probe has focused solely on allegations of embezzlement and drug-dealing by employees.

Rostenkowski was not available for comment when news of the subpoenas broke, but a spokesman said later that the Chicago-area lawmaker had received “no indication” of why the jury might want to see his records. “It’s an opaque request,” the spokesman said.

Issuance of the subpoenas--particularly Rostenkowski’s--came as a jolt to House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.), who already has been under fire for his handling of the House bank scandal. As Ways and Means chairman, Rostenkowski is a member of the House leadership.

It also could cloud Rostenkowski’s political prospects. The stocky Chicago-area Democrat had won a tough primary race earlier this year and was considered all but unbeatable. Analysts said it was too early to assess the effect of the subpoenas on his reelection prospects.

The House post office has been under investigation for several months following allegations earlier this year of embezzlement, theft and illegal drug sales that some authorities believe may have continued for at least 12 months.

Five clerks and one supervisor already have been indicted, and four of the clerks have pleaded guilty, officials said. The supervisor, Dorothea Niki Risenhoover of Alexandria, Va., pleaded not guilty to charges of cocaine possession and conspiring to cover up embezzlement.

Disclosure of the subpoenas came during questioning on the House floor by Republicans, who seized on the incident to excoriate Foley for not having formally notified other members, as House rules require.

The Speaker said he had delayed making the subpoenas public for several days until House lawyers had been able to “clarify” the scope of the questioning. Foley said U.S. Atty. Jay B. Stephens had since modified his request informally, but he did not specify how.

Despite Foley’s explanations, a few minutes later the House voted, 324 to 3, to approve a GOP-sponsored resolution calling on the House to provide the subpoenaed documents and demanding an explanation from the Speaker for his delay in notifying other lawmakers.

Foley told reporters later that complying with the grand jury request would take several days, but the spokesman for Rostenkowski said the Ways and Means Committee chairman already had delivered his records to Stephens’ office.

Whatever the grand jury is seeking, its instructions were uncompromisingly stern. The subpoenas contained warnings that the materials being requested “may be submitted for forensic tests, such as fingerprint and handwriting analysis” and should not be altered.

And they called for expense vouchers and office records--including pamphlets, manuals, books or other guidelines--pertaining to the use of stamp allotments for the members’ offices.

The two other lawmakers issued statements in response to the news of the subpoenas, saying they do not believe they had done anything wrong and were willing to cooperate.