Holbrooke Clears Hurdle for Envoy Post

WASHINGTON — President Clinton moved ahead with plans to nominate Richard C. Holbrooke to be ambassador to the United Nations after Holbrooke agreed Tuesday to pay $5,000 to settle civil charges that he violated federal ethics laws.

“I will soon send to the Senate my nomination of Richard C. Holbrooke,” Clinton said in a statement issued shortly after the federal lawsuit and settlement were filed simultaneously in U.S. District Court.

The veteran 57-year-old diplomat denied in the settlement the Justice Department’s allegations that he improperly contacted a U.S. diplomat on behalf of his employer. Instead, Holbrooke said he was acting as a special government employee asked to explain U.S. policy to Asian officials.

The Justice Department said Holbrooke did not willfully violate the law barring former government officials from contacting ex-colleagues about business for one year after leaving government. The department also said the contact produced no direct financial gain for Holbrooke or his employer, an investment bank.