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Blog
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Welcome to the Holtzman Vogel Law Blog. We aim to keep you
up to date on important legal developments and other items of interest. On this
blog, we'll track developments in the news and changes to the rules and regulations
affecting political committees, corporate PACs, trade associations, non-profit groups
and advocacy organizations. We'll also keep you updated on the lobbying and ethics
arena. The Law Blog is designed to supplement our regular newsletter.
On behalf of the Holtzman Vogel team, I hope you find this site helpful and interesting.
And we hope you'll become a regular visitor. (If you'd like to receive our newsletter,
please click here to sign up.)
Jill Holtzman Vogel
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Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Politico: Congress outsourcing some ethics work
Politico reports that the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) has outsourced some of its investigative work to Navigant Consulting. From Politico: "The Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent ethics body, has contracted out more than $500,000 of work over the past year, a sign of just how busy the ethics watchdog has been and how expansive the ethics process has become. The recipient of nearly $530,000 in taxpayer dollars is Navigant Consulting, a business consulting firm. Navigant, based in Chicago, was not involved in any of the most sensitive legal aspects of ethics cases, but because of an unpredictable caseload, a small staff and institutional constraints on its time, the OCE has found itself outsourcing things like document retrieval and management, forensic accounting and technology services, according to public records and sources familiar with the matter."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, September 06, 2010
NYT: Congressional Charities Are Pulling In Corporate Cash
The New York Times reports "A review ... of federal tax records and House and Senate disclosure reports found at least two dozen charities that lawmakers or their families helped create or run that routinely accept donations from businesses seeking to influence them. The sponsors — AT&T, Chevron, General Dynamics, Morgan Stanley, Eli Lilly and dozens of others — contribute millions of dollars annually in gifts ranging from token amounts to a check for $5 million."
Thursday, September 02, 2010
The Hill: New details emerge in ethics probe of fundraising, vote on Wall Street bill
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
NYT: 3 Congressmen May Face Further Inquiry
The New York Times reports "The Office of Congressional Ethics has found enough evidence of wrongdoing to recommend further investigation of three House members who held fund-raising events just days before they voted on financial regulatory legislation last year. The referrals to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct came as the office recommended dismissing investigations of five other lawmakers, whose fund-raising just before the December 2009 vote had also come under scrutiny. The investigation focused on lawmakers who raised money from lobbyists or executives of financial firms that had objected to provisions of the legislation. Each of the three House members — Representatives John Campbell, Republican of California; Joseph Crowley, Democrat of New York; and Tom Price, Republican of Georgia — criticized the referrals on Tuesday, with two of them saying the quasi-independent ethics office had not produced evidence of wrongdoing."
An earlier report is here.
The Wall Street Journal reports here. One of the five lawmakers not referred by OCE released a statement submitted to investigators earlier: ""If holding a general fund-raiser while Congress was in session voting on legislation that went through one of my committees is in violation of House Ethics Rules, then that is a broad new limitation on members' fund-raising activities."
Monday, August 23, 2010
NYT Editorial on "Tom Delay's Legacy"
The New York Times has this editorial on the Tom Delay and the Justice Department investigation that just ended. Predictably, the Times calls for more ethics laws.
But this one is a real puzzler: "Mr. DeLay, the Texas Republican who had been the House majority leader, crowed that he had been 'found innocent.' But many of Mr. DeLay’s actions remain legal only because lawmakers have chosen not to criminalize them" (emphasis added).
Makes you wonder who ghostwrites this stuff for them. Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21 highlights the Times editorial here.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Dueling Op-Eds on Fundraiser Timing Investigation
The USA Today editors and Brad Smith have dueling op-eds on the Office of Congressional Ethics' investigation into House members' fundraising events held in the days leading up to the vote on the financial regulation bill last December.
We previously noted this investigation here.
USA Today's editors cite "the obvious conflict inherent in taking money from people seeking to profit from their votes," but also acknowledge that "the five Republicans had long opposed financial reforms and voted against them. The three Democrats voted for the measure, a move to rein in Wall Street."
Brad Smith notes that "To date, no information has surfaced indicating that anything illegal — or even improper — has occurred. Nonetheless, this investigation has imperiled the reputations of eight lawmakers of both parties....What's remarkable is that none of the members under investigation changed his vote because of a contribution, which would be unethical and illegal. There's no evidence that these contributions impacted voting decisions. As expected, the three Democrats supported the bill and the five Republicans voted against it. Where's the corruption? This investigation — slated to continue until at least the end of August — empowers the professional scandal industry in Washington: the so-called good government groups that use any excuse to demand more restrictions on political speech."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Rep. Maxine Waters Will Also Go On Ethics "Trial"
Politico reports "Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has chosen to go through an ethics trial, like the one lined up for New York Rep. Charles Rangel, rather than accepting charges made by an ethics subcommittee, a source familiar with the process tells POLITICO. The back-to-back trials of two black lawmakers represent an unprecedented use of an ethics adjudication system that has rarely been used by House members accused of breaking ethics rules. Waters's case revolves around allegations that she improperly intervened with federal regulators to help a bank that her husband owned stock in and on whose board he once served."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Rep. Alan Grayson Used Franking Privilege to Fund $73,000 DVD Mailing to His Constituents
The Orlando Sentinel explains that Grayson mailed a "90-minute disc features video highlights from his first term in office" to his constituents. "The DVD comes wrapped inside a mailer covered with promotional slogans: 'Congressman Alan Grayson, Hard at Work for You,' 'He works hard. He pays attention. He gets things done,' and 'Video DVD Inside: Watch Congressman Grayson in Action!' ... Thanks to perks given to all members of Congress, it's not Grayson's campaign but taxpayers who footed the nearly $73,000 bill to produce and mail the DVD to 100,000 homes in Grayson's district of Lake, Marion, Orange and Osceola counties. It's a stunt that drew howls from Republicans, who complained that Grayson was abusing the congressional privilege of franking that allows lawmakers to send taxpayer-paid newsletters and other mail to residents."
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wash. Post: Democrat Rangel charged with 13 ethics violations
The Washington Post reports "The House ethics committee charged Rep. Charles B. Rangel with 13 separate violations of House rules Thursday, saying his various financial dealings broke the "public trust." The long-awaited release of the charges against Rangel at an afternoon hearing was the first formal step toward a possible ethics trial in mid-September. After eleventh-hour settlement talks broke down, the committee announced that it had found "substantial reason to believe" that the New York Democrat had violated House rules or federal laws by soliciting donations from people with business before his committee to fund a center named in his honor at City College of New York, not paying taxes on a Caribbean home, improperly using a rent-stabilized apartment in New York as a campaign office, and not properly disclosing more than $600,000 in income and assets."
The Ethics Committee's "Statement of Alleged Violation" is available here, additional documents transmitted here, and Rangel's statement is here (exhibits here).
More coverage:
- The Hill here.
- Politico here ("The 41-page document offers a sweeping indictment of Rangel, painting the portrait of a legislator who abused his office to burnish his name, repeatedly failed to accurately account for his own income and assets and did not abide by the very tax laws he oversaw as the top Democrat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.").
- New York Times here.
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Rangel "Trial" Today, 1 p.m.
The Hill reports "Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) is ready to lay out his case to the public and thinks he can win, barring a last-minute deal in his showdown with the House ethics committee."
According to Politico, "Not even his colleagues know what Rangel will do Thursday, when the House ethics committee reveals what is expected to be a scathing slate of allegations of wrongdoing to open the congressional version of a trial."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, July 23, 2010
The Hill: Rangel charged with multiple violations by House ethics panel
From The Hill: "Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) will stand trial on ethics charges after a House panel accused him Thursday of multiple violations. The veteran lawmaker will challenge the findings in an open hearing....The House ethics committee stated it has launched a separate panel, called an adjudicatory subcommittee, in the wake of unspecified findings by a four-member panel of the ethics committee that Rangel violated House rules."
More reports:
- Washington Post here.
- Washington Times here.
- New York Times here.
- Wall Street Journal here.
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Office of Congressional Ethics Now Investigating Lawmakers Based on Timing of Their Fundraising Events
The Washington Post reports "The Office of Congressional Ethics is investigating eight lawmakers who held fundraisers within 48 hours of a major House vote on a Wall Street reform bill or received substantial donations from business people with a financial stake in the bill, according to congressional sources and letters. The probe is focused on whether the timing of accepting the campaign checks created an unacceptable appearance of a conflict, according to sources familiar with the investigation and letters sent by the OCE to lobbyists requesting information....The House ethics manual instructs members to steer away from accepting campaign donations if the timing creates an unacceptable appearance of a conflict of interest."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Another Chapter in the Washington Post's Examination of Members' Investment Holdings
The Washington Post has another article about Members of Congress and their stock portfolios. (An earlier article is here.) The Post writes:
In both houses of Congress, a host of other committee chairmen and ranking members have reported that they have millions invested in business sectors that their panels oversee, according to a Post analysis of financial disclosure records through 2008, committee assignments and lawmaker investments by industry.
The disclosure reports covering 2009 will be made public in the coming days. But because lawmakers still use a pen-and-paper method of reporting, it will be months before the information is entered into a database by the Center for Responsive Politics and then made available for analysis by The Post.
(Note that the Post - Washington DC's newspaper of record - is apparently unable to conduct its own independent review of Congress' public financial documents, and must instead wait until an interest group with a clear agenda provides it with the information.)
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Hill: Pelosi considering rewriting ethics rules
The Hill reports "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has privately indicated she is willing to rewrite some of the the ethics rules that House Democrats implemented two years ago."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Politico: Lawmakers seek to gut ethics office
"The Office of Congressional Ethics, a powerful symbol of Democrats’ promise to 'drain the swamp' in Washington, is in danger of having its power stripped after the midterm elections.
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have led the charge, airing complaints about the aggressive, independent panel in a private session with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month, and they’ve drafted a resolution that, if approved, would severely curtail the panel’s power.
But there’s hot competition between the CBC and the official House ethics committee over who has less regard for the Office of Congressional Ethics, also known as the OCE. And the rest of the House doesn’t appear to be far behind in its disdain. Privately, Democratic and Republican lawmakers, and even some congressional leaders, acknowledge that there’s a strong sentiment to change rules that empower the office to publicize investigations and wreak havoc on lawmakers’ political lives."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, June 07, 2010
Congress.org: Facebook raises franking questions
From Congress.org: "Facebook pages created and run by a lawmaker's staff can promote official activity, but they can't raise money. Campaign-run pages, meantime, have to be careful about conducting official business....When they sign up for Facebook, Members must designate whether their page is official, and therefore governed by franking rules, or a campaign page, which isn't subject to the rules of conduct for Congressional communication....Both types of page allow politicians to highlight television appearances, update followers on travel schedules and post videos of committee hearings and floor speeches. And some Members maintain two pages to be able to have the best of both worlds."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
NYT: 20 in Black Caucus Ask for Curbs on Ethics Office
The New York Times reports "Twenty members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including its chairwoman, are asking the House to severely restrict the powers of an independent ethics office that has spent much of its first full year investigating accusations of wrongdoing among black caucus members. A resolution introduced late last week by Representative Marcia L. Fudge, Democrat of Ohio, and co-sponsored by 19 other black caucus members, would prohibit the release of most investigative reports prepared by the Office of Congressional Ethics. It would also prevent the office from initiating its own inquiries, unless a sworn complaint was filed by an individual with personal knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
WSJ: GOP Takes Aim at Sestak
From the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog: "some GOP lawmakers are intensifying accusations that the White House may have broken the law by offering [Rep. Joe] Sestak a job to get him to drop his Senate bid....The White House was indisputably eager to clear the Democratic field for Specter, who had changed parties in part to avoid a likely defeat in the GOP primary. Sestak said several months ago the administration offered him a post if he dropped out, and he has repeated that several times since, including on Sunday’s talk shows....Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) says he or another lawmaker will file an ethics complaint against Sestak by July 4 if an outside group doesn’t do so first. In a letter to White House counsel Robert Bauer, Issa cited three provisions of Title 18, the federal criminal code, that he says may have been violated."
Rep. Issa's letter to Robert Bauer is here.
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, May 17, 2010
USA Today Editorials on Financial Regulation and the Senators' Stock Ownership
From USA Today: "When senators act this week on financial regulations, the public has a right to expect they'll be voting purely on what's in the best interests of the nation. But how can the public be certain when 20 senators also have interests of their own, based on holdings — some in excess of $100,000 — in banking stocks? ... The simplest way to do away with lawmakers having to vote for or against their financial self-interest? They could shun individual stocks— as House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., does — and confine their equity holdings to diverse mutual funds. At a minimum, they should file electronic disclosures of holdings every 90 days. In an era of sky-high skepticism about Congress, voters could use more assurance that lawmakers are acting to pad the nation's prosperity, not their own portfolios."
The opposing view: "Instead of distorting conflict-of-interest principles and applying them to Congress in an attempt to fit round pegs in square holes, a better solution is to promote transparency. Currently, members of Congress (as well as all candidates for Congress) file annual reports of their assets and income. Those reports, due each May 15, disclose financial information for the previous calendar year. Perhaps earlier and more frequent disclosure is desirable, but it should be closely studied to determine whether it's practical and will be complete. In the Internet age, personal financial disclosure reports should be filed electronically and be publicly available in searchable and downloadable format....Online public disclosure will promote ethical behavior and educate voters when they next vote for their representative."
Friday, May 14, 2010
WSJ: Congress Reins In Its Perks for Travel
The Wall Street Journal reports "House leaders are revamping the rules for lawmakers and aides who travel overseas on official government business, forbidding them to fly in business class on shorter trips, use taxpayer funds to buy gifts or pocket unspent cash, among other changes. The new travel rules, proposed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, also strengthen accountability and oversight for taxpayer-funded trips. But the rules don't require lawmakers to disclose some of the biggest costs of such trips, including travel by military plane, which can double or triple the total costs....Senate aides said that chamber isn't planning amendments to its travel rules, which are comparable to the old, looser House rules."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Miami Herald: Ethical question forces Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to cancel fundraiser
From the Miami Herald: "Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, scrapped an upcoming fundraiser after a Capitol Hill newspaper questioned the invite that asked participants to join an advisory council -- for a $2,500 campaign contribution....Watchdog groups say the offer appears to violate House ethics rules that say a lawmaker should not 'sponsor or participate in any solicitation that offers donors any special access to the member in the member's official capacity.'"
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
NYT: Ethics Report Faults Ex-Congressman
The New York Times reports "Nathan Deal, a former congressman who is running for Georgia governor, resigned from the House last week in a move that seemed certain to end an ethics investigation that could have caused him political embarrassment. But on Monday, the Office of Congressional Ethics released its report anyway, concluding that Mr. Deal appeared to have improperly used his office staff to pressure Georgia officials to continue a state vehicle inspection program that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for his family’s auto salvage business....Normally, reports by the ethics office — which essentially serves as a grand jury that does preliminary investigations — become public only when the House ethics committee formally takes up a matter and votes to punish members or to clear them of allegations....Once Mr. Deal resigned, the formal ethics office investigation was apparently terminated, because the office generally has jurisdiction over only sitting members of congress....Unwilling to be outmaneuvered, the Office of Congressional Ethics — created in 2008 to serve as an independent ethics watchdog on Capitol Hill — decided by a 6-to-0 board vote on Friday to release its findings anyway."
This matter should lead to debate on the propriety of the Office of Congressional Ethics' actions, and whether their jurisdiction somehow differs from the House Ethics Committee's.
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
NY Times Declares Office of Congressional Ethics a Success
The New York Times published this "article" on the Office of Congressional Ethics yesterday, asserting that "in the weird world of Capitol Hill, by losing, [OCE director] Mr. [Leo] Wise may actually be winning."
Friday, March 19, 2010
Politico: Twin John Ensign probes still going strong
Politico reports "Even as the Justice Department’s criminal probe into Sen. John Ensign continues to heat up, the Senate Ethics Committee shows no sign of shutting down its own investigation into the fallout from the Nevada Republican’s extramarital affair with a onetime staffer."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
What Did They Know and When Did They Know It?
The Hill reports "The House overwhelmingly backed a privileged resolution offered by GOP Leader John Boehner (Ohio) that will have the Ethics Committee look into what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and other Democratic leaders and staffers knew about allegations of sexual harassment against Massa, and when they became aware of the situation....Members of both parties voted overwhelmingly to support the resolution, which passed 494-2. No Democrats voted against the resolution, while two Republicans voted against it. The members of the Ethics Committee, which would conduct the investigation, voted 'present,' as is custom."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Roll Call editorial: Ethics Stench
Roll Call has this editorial on the recent House Ethics Committee report in the PMA Group earmarks investigation.
From Roll Call: "now it develops that the committee apparently did little or no investigating at all. If that’s the case, a stench of deception now surrounds the ethics committee....In clearing all seven [Members of Congress under investigation], the [ethics]committee asserted it had reviewed nearly 250,000 pages of documents and conducted interviews with 'numerous witnesses.' But Roll Call contacted numerous firms and Member offices that would have been logical sources of information for the committee — and found that not a single one had been contacted or asked for documents....For sure, proving what much of the public suspects — that Members trade earmarks for campaign money, quid pro quo — is very difficult. But, it appears, the ethics committee didn’t even try. It said it did so, but we suspect it merely reviewed the OCE’s reports, found no provable wrongdoing and cleared everyone involved. We’d call that a whitewash."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, March 08, 2010
CQ Politics: Massa Details Ethics Case; Blames Democratic Leaders
CQ Politics has details of a new twist in the Massa ethics story: "Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.) told a New York radio station on Sunday that an ethics investigation into his behavior focused on sexually-charged comments he made to an aide at a New Year’s Eve celebration, but charged he was unaware of an ethics committee investigation into the incident until after he had announced his retirement last week. Massa said he had believed the committee was investigating an unrelated fundraising letter, and suggested that the ethics dust-up may have been orchestrated by Democratic leaders to get him out of office before the health care vote."
Click here to read the entire post.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Wash. Post: Thin wall separates lobbyist contributions and earmarks
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
More From The Earmarks Uproar
The Washington Post has this piece ("In e-mails, lobbyists perceive ties between campaign cash, earmarks") about unreleased documents from the House Ethics Committee's PMA Group investigation. Writes the Post: "Lobbyists and corporate officials talked bluntly in e-mail exchanges about connections between making generous campaign donations and securing federal funds through members of an important House Appropriations subcommittee, according to not-yet-public documents reviewed by ethics investigators."
Saturday, March 06, 2010
WSJ editorial: Earmarks Forever; The House ignores Nancy Pelosi's board of outside ethics watchdogs.
The Wall Street Journal has this editorial, on the House Ethics Committee's recent PMA Group report: "The [Ethics] Committee said late last week it could find no evidence 'that members or their official staff considered campaign contributions as a factor when requesting earmarks.' Not even a 'factor'? Instead the villains are the lobbyists, who, the report says 'employed 'strong-armed' tactics' to try to link contributions to earmarks. The report also said there was a 'wide-spread perception among corporations and lobbyists' that contributions were linked to access and earmarks. Imagine that. What this judgment means is that the earmark favor factory has now been given an ethics green light."
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Wash. Post: Massa resigns; Democrats' ethical lapses could threaten hold on power
From the Washington Post: "Congressional Democrats reclaimed control of Congress in 2006 by pledging to 'drain the swamp' after Republican ethics scandals rocked Capitol Hill. Now, a series of controversies involving Democratic members has robbed the party of its claim to hold the higher moral ground -- and could threaten its hold on power in this fall's elections."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, March 05, 2010
NYT: Earmarks Abuse Feared After Ethics Panel Ruling
From the New York Times: "a new interpretation of ethics rules is threatening to make it easier for lawmakers to give earmarks to big campaign contributors and expose the process to greater abuse than before, legal analysts and some lawmakers say. Their concerns were prompted by a report last week from the House ethics committee that cleared seven House members, all on the defense appropriations subcommittee, of allegations that they had improperly given tens of millions of dollars in earmarks to political contributors. Although investigators found indications that at least two of the members had at least implicitly rewarded donors with earmarks, the committee said that the appearance of a financial reward for donors does not amount to an ethical breach in itself. “Simply because a member sponsors an earmark for an entity that also happens to be a campaign contributor does not, on these two facts alone, support a claim that a member’s actions are being influenced by campaign contributions,” the committee, which is made up of five Democrats and five Republicans, concluded in its report."
We previously noted the Ethics Committee's report here.
Friday, March 05, 2010
USA Today: Watchdog groups seek revamp of ethics rules
From USA Today: "Watchdog groups are calling for a revamp of congressional ethics rules after the House ethics panel exonerated a dozen lawmakers in two separate investigations. Melanie Sloan, of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the ethics committee's recent actions prove Democratic leaders who pledged to clean up Washington by passing ethics rules 'never meant it.'"
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
The Hill: Rangel to give up gavel and take leave while ethics probe continues
The Hill reports "Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday morning he's taking a leave of absence as the chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee pending the results of an ethics investigation."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
WSJ: Lawmakers Keep the Change; Cash Left Over From Official Trips Overseas Is Often Used for Personal Expenses
The Wall Street Journal reports "When lawmakers travel overseas on official business they are given up to $250 a day in taxpayer funds to cover meals and expenses. Congressional rules say they must return any leftover cash to the government. They usually don't. According to interviews with 20 current and former members of Congress, lawmakers use the excess cash for shopping or to defray spouses' travel expenses. Sometimes they give it away; sometimes they pocket it. Many lawmakers said they didn't know the rules demand repayment....Congress has no system for tracking how the cash payments, called per diems, are being spent. Lawmakers aren't required to keep receipts and there are no public records."
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
At Least One Congressman Doesn't Think Much of the Ethics Investigators
Politico reports that California Representative Pete Stark "was 'extremely belligerent' toward interviewers from the Office of Congressional Ethics last year, insulted the staff members who came to interview him and had a video camera in his office during the session, according to a recently released report."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Wash. Post: Ethics panel clears 7 on earmarks
The Washington Post reports "The House ethics committee ruled Friday that seven lawmakers who steered hundreds of millions of dollars in largely no-bid contracts to clients of a lobbying firm had not violated any rules or laws by also collecting large campaign donations from those contractors. In a 305-page report, the ethics committee declared that lawmakers are free to raise campaign money from the very companies they are benefiting so long as the deciding factors in granting those 'earmarks' are 'criteria independent' of the contributions. The report served as a blunt rejection of ethics watchdogs and a different group of congressional investigators, who have contended that in some instances the connection between donations and earmarks was so close that it had to be inappropriate. 'Simply because a member sponsors an earmark for an entity that also happens to be a campaign contributor does not, on these two facts alone, support a claim that a member's actions are being influenced by campaign contributions,' the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct said in a unanimous statement. "
(This is the PMA Group lobbying/earmarks matter.)
The Committee's statement and the full report are available here.
Friday, February 26, 2010
From the Department of "They Have A Rule For Everything"
The Daily Caller notes that "Former Rep. Melissa Hart may have hit the road and gone back home to Pittsburgh in 2006 when she lost her bid for re-election, but it appears that a car she owns still remains in the Longworth House Office building parking garage — more than three years after she left Congress....According to the Committee on House Administration Web site, former members can only park in the garages if they are not registered lobbyists. Hart, who now chairs Pittsburgh-based law firm Keevican Weiss Bauerle & Hirsch’s Government Relations practice, is registered in the Senate lobbyist database."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wash. Post: Rep. Rangel's trips broke congressional gift rules, panel says
The Post reports "Rep. Charles B. Rangel broke congressional gift rules by accepting trips to Caribbean conferences that were financed by corporate interests, the House ethics committee said Thursday. While the panel did not find that the New York Democrat, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, knew about the corporate backing for the trips in 2007 and 2008, it concluded that members of his staff were aware and that he was therefore responsible....The ethics panel found that five other members under scrutiny for the trips did not knowingly violate House rules....House rules forbid corporations and most other private groups from funding such travel. Exceptions exist for certain nonprofit groups, and the Caribbean trips that Rangel and the handful of other members of the Congressional Black Caucus took were run by a charity, the Carib News Foundation. Despite the nonprofit's sponsorship, conservative activists found that many leading corporations, including Citigroup, financed much of the conference's events. Signs and posters were displayed in hotel lobbies showing the corporate financers."
The House Ethics Committee's statement is here.
More media coverage inside.
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Politico: John Ensign will face investigation
Politico reports "The Senate Ethics Committee will continue its investigation of Sen. John Ensign’s affair with an ex-staffer, despite a nascent Justice Department probe into the Nevada Republican. Unlike those of its House counterpart, the Senate Ethics Committee’s rules do not formally bar the panel from taking up a case in which the Justice Department or other law enforcement agency is involved. But the Senate committee does traditionally stand aside in such instances."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Roll Call: Senators Can Now Have Official Facebook Pages
Roll Call reports "The Senate Rules and Administration Committee has reached an agreement with Facebook that will enable Senators to set up an 'official' Facebook page that follows the chamber’s rules."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wash. Post: Justice Department and FBI begin investigation of Sen. John Ensign
The Washington Post reports "The Justice Department and the FBI have begun a preliminary investigation into actions by Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), who arranged to provide money and career assistance to the husband of his mistress, sources familiar with the case said Tuesday. The tentative investigation is being run jointly by the Justice Department, the FBI's Washington field office and the U.S. attorney's office in the District, a federal law enforcement official said."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Roll Call: Ethics Office Urged Investigation of 12 Members Last Year
From Roll Call: "The Office of Congressional Ethics forwarded 12 ethics investigations to the House during the past 12 months, including three reviews in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a report released by the office Thursday."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, January 11, 2010
USA Today: No one punished under congressional ethics rules
USA Today reports this morning that "Nearly three years after Congress approved sweeping ethics rules to 'drain the swamp,' as incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put it, no member of Congress has been punished for wrongdoing. . . . 'Three years later, it's the same old, same old,' said Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
House Ethics Committee Investigating Rep. Pete Stark
The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (aka the House Ethics Committee) announced it was looking into an ethics matter involving Rep. Pete Stark (a California Democrat).
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, December 21, 2009
CQ Politics: Ethics Inquiries Close for Four Lawmakers
CQ Politics reports "Four House members may escape an ethics cloud going into the 2010 elections, now that the Office of Congressional Ethics has closed its investigation into their relationships to the lobbying firm PMA Group and has advised against a formal House investigation. The OCE decision affects Democratic Reps. John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, Norm Dicks of Washington and James Moran of Virginia. The decision for the three Democrats was announced Dec. 18. On Dec. 19, the office of Republican Rep. Bill Young of Florida announced the OCE had closed its investigation into the lawmaker and his ties to the now-defunct lobbying firm and advised against further investigation by the House ethics committee."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
WSJ: House Ethics Office Ends Probe of Murtha, 2 Others
The Wall Street Journal reports, "The Office of Congressional Ethics has informed aides to Murtha as well as Reps. Norm Dicks (D., Wash.) and Jim Moran (D., Va.) that it is no longer looking into allegations that they traded government funding earmarks for campaign donations. . . . The Office of Congressional Ethics could still be looking into several other members of the defense-spending committee. It was already known that the Office of Congressional Ethics was examining the actions of Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D., Ohio), Todd Tiahrt (R., Kan.), Rep. Peter Visclosky (D., Ind.), and Bill Young (R., Fla.)."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Ethics Guidance for the Holiday Season
The House Ethics Committee recently released this memo ("Holiday Guidance on the Gift Rule"), while the Office of Government Ethics issued this guidance ("A Reminder about Holiday Gifts & Fundraising").
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
WSJ: Congress Travels More, Public Pays
The Wall Street Journal reports that a recent Congressional trip to Scotland "provides a glimpse of the mixture of business and pleasure involved in legislators' overseas trips, which are growing in number and mostly financed by the taxpayer. Lawmakers travel with military liaisons who carry luggage, help them through customs, escort them on sightseeing trips and stock their hotel rooms with food and liquor. Typically, spouses come along, flying free on jets operated by the Air Force. Legislative aides come too. On the ground, all travel in chauffeured vehicles. . . . Lawmakers take scores of overseas trips each year to visit military bases, meet foreign officials, attend conferences and see how U.S. funds are spent. Ever since a corruption scandal in 2005 led to restrictions on privately funded travel, legislators have been taking more trips paid for by the government. The cost they reported for such travel abroad was $13 million in 2008, a 70% jump from 2005, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of travel records. Lawmakers don't have to report the cost of domestic travel when the government pays. The $13 million didn't include the expense of flying on Air Force planes, which lawmakers don't have to disclose. Over the 2005-08 period, the cost of legislators' privately funded travel, both domestic and overseas, fell 70%, to $2.9 million, according to LegiStorm.com, a Web site that tracks it."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Politico: Ethics probes may saddle Democrats in 2010
From Politico: "This wave of ethics problems for Capitol Hill Democrats makes GOP strategists optimistic that they can do to Democrats what was done to Republicans in 2006: paint a picture of a majority party corrupted by its own power. . . . Democrats, though, downplay the GOP ethics attacks, arguing that party leaders are making sure that improper behavior is promptly investigated and punished. They note that a recently leaked document from the House ethics committee showed that the panel and the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent watchdog created by Democrats in 2008, are reviewing a broad range of cases against lawmakers. To Democrats, this means the ethics process is working as designed. They also note that Republicans have their own ethical problems to deal with and shouldn’t be spoiling for a fight on this issue."
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Thursday, December 10, 2009
Huffington Post: McCain Robocalls Prompt Ethics Complaint
From Huffington Post: "Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) broke Senate rules when he recorded a robocall touting his amendment to the health care bill, according to a complaint filed with the Senate Ethics Committee by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The National Republican Senatorial Committee paid for the call, which targeted the constituents of swing senators in five states and attacked the current health care reform bill for 'cutting $500 billion in vital Medicare coverage for our seniors.' The call urged constituents to sign a petition encouraging the senators to support McCain's amendment. In its complaint, CREW cites Senate Rule 38, which prohibits senators from using private donations to support official Senate activities. . . . NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh defended the call and referred to CREW as a 'left-wing front group' in a statement."
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Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Hill: Ethics panel’s slow pace on completing several probes has lawmakers fuming
The Hill reports "House lawmakers implicated in a secret ethics panel document are pressuring the committee to conclude their cases as quickly as possible. Several lawmakers interviewed by The Hill say they have cooperated fully with the panel and are frustrated with it for allowing the sensitive document to be leaked to the press and for not acting more quickly in reviewing charges."
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Wednesday, December 09, 2009
OCE Response to Holtzman Vogel Newsletter Article
The most recent edition of Holtzman Vogel's newsletter (Law & Policy Update) included an article on the Office of Congressional Ethics and the U.S. House Ethics Committee (see here, page 4). The Office of Congressional Ethics objected to some of the characterizations made in that article, and we offered them the opportunity to respond. Their response appears below. (And we stand by the factual accuracy of our article.)
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, December 07, 2009
NY Times: New Rules for Congress Curb but Don’t End Paid Trips
The New York Times reports "Despite changes intended to curb Congressional junkets, some lawmakers and even their families continue to take trips hosted by private groups and companies that revel in their access to Washington power brokers.
An examination by The New York Times of 1,150 trips shows that some of them bent or broke rules adopted in 2007 to limit corporate influence in Washington. Others exploited glaring loopholes in the guidelines, enacted with much fanfare after scandals involving the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff."
Click here to read the entire post.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Wash. Post: Baucus defends nominating girlfriend; Senator, staffer involved when he recommended her as a U.S. attorney
The Washington Post reports "Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the powerful chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, acknowledged Saturday that he was involved in a romantic relationship with a senior staff member at the same time he recommended her to be U.S. attorney for Montana."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Politico: Ethics Committee issues subpoenas
Politico reports "The Senate Ethics Committee has begun issuing subpoenas to those caught up in the sex and lobbying scandal surrounding Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and his former aides, Doug and Cindy Hampton."
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Friday, December 04, 2009
Wash. Post: Homeland Security panel faces ethics scrutiny after credit card hearing
The Washington Post has this report: "At a hearing in late March, the nation's credit card companies faced the threat of expensive new rules from an unlikely regulator: the House Committee on Homeland Security, chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).
The committee had never before dealt with credit card issues, but Thompson warned Visa, MasterCard and others that Congress might need to impose tighter security standards costing millions of dollars to protect customers from identity theft.
Behind the scenes, some of Thompson's staffers sensed a different motive -- an attempt to pressure the companies into making political donations to the chairman, according to several former committee staffers.
Now the House ethics committee is investigating the propriety of the committee's operations, and whether its members' interactions with companies compromised its work. Within a few weeks of the hearing, Thompson collected $15,000 in donations from the credit card industry and its Washington-based lobbyists, a Washington Post analysis shows. No legislation on card security has been introduced."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
OCE Responds To House Ethics Criticism
The Office of Congressional Ethics issued this statement in response to the House Ethics Committee's recent criticism of its methods and conclusions in the Rep. Graves report.
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wash. Post: Senate ethics committee admonishes Burris
The Washington Post reports "Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.) has been admonished by the Senate ethics committee for his public comments about his appointment last December to the body. In a three-page 'public letter of qualified admonition' issued Friday, the committee formally reprimanded Burris for statements -- some made under oath to an Illinois legislative committee -- in which he denied trying to raise any campaign contributions for indicted former governor Rod Blagojevich for his political committees. Several weeks after making those statements, and after being sworn in to the Senate, Burris amended his testimony to say that he had discussed trying to gather donations for Blagojevich."
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Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wash. Post: Ex-Rep. Jefferson (D-La.) gets 13 years in freezer cash case
The Washington Post reports, "Former congressman William J. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison Friday for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, the longest prison term ever handed down to a member of Congress convicted of corruption charges.
The sentence for the Lousiana Democrat fell far short of the 27 to 33 years suggested under federal sentencing guidelines, a recommendation endorsed by prosecutors. But it exceeded the previous record for congressional corruption: the eight-year and four-month prison term that former congressman Randall "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) received in 2006 for taking bribes from defense contractors."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, November 13, 2009
New York Times Editorial: Ethics Watchdogs Snarl at the Messenger
According to this New York Times editorial on the recent spat between the House ethics committee and the new Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), "The House ethics committee is openly — and foolishly — sniping at its newly appointed ally in the difficult task of policing members’ behavior. . . . This investment of resources would be far better focused on members’ behavior rather than the agency created by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to help the ethics committee shed its well-deserved reputation for inertia and evasion."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
WSJ: Earmark Beneficiaries Contributing Less to Lawmakers
The Wall Street Journal reports "Lawmakers on the House defense-spending panel are receiving fewer campaign contributions from companies that benefited from special provisions added to legislation, according to an analysis of fund-raising data and congressional records. . . . So far this year, members of the defense-spending panel received a total of $141,000 in campaign contributions from companies that received earmarks from the lawmakers. That is a 67% decline from the $426,000 in donations in the first nine months of 2007, the first year of the previous election cycle."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Politico: Feds seek 30 year sentence for William Jefferson
Politico reports "Federal prosecutors are seeking the harshest prison sentence ever handed out to a member of Congress for former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), arguing that his 'stunning betrayal of public trust' warrants what could be a life sentence for the long-time lawmaker. The Justice Department is asking a federal judge in Alexandria, Va, to lock up Jefferson, 62, for up to 33 years, according to documents filed by prosecutors on Friday."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
WSJ: Democrats' Ethics Targeted by GOP
The Wall Street Journal reports "Republicans are seizing on newly revealed ethics probes of congressional Democrats ahead of next year's midterm elections, accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues of failing to make good on their pledge to clean up Washington when they regained control of Congress.
None of the Democratic lawmakers under investigation by the House Ethics Committee is expected to lose in 2010. And ethics concerns are usually less important to voters than pocketbook issues. But Republican campaign strategists say ethics issues rumbling under the surface could help the GOP pick up a few House seats by tipping the balance in closely contested races."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
WSJ: Lawmakers Score Ticket Deal; Baseball Sells Officials Scarce World Series Seats at Face Value, Far Below Going Rate
The Wall Street Journal reports "Major League Baseball and the teams sell a limited number of prime seats to lawmakers and congressional aides at face value, often hundreds of dollars less than the going rate. The league has sold about 75 World Series tickets to a total of 15 lawmakers or aides in the past week, according to Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball. Mr. Courtney declined to identify which lawmakers and aides sought the tickets. Because the recipients pay for the tickets, the offer complies with ethics rules for Congress and the executive branch. The arrangement, however, highlights what some ethics watchdogs say is a loophole in recently tightened congressional ethics rules, which ban officials from receiving just about any gifts."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Wash. Post: Bad news for Democrats in revelation of ethics probes
From the Washington Post: "After years of criticism that congressional lawmakers were reluctant to investigate their colleagues, the disclosure in recent days of a sensitive document from the House ethics committee offers the contradictory portrait of a panel actively pursuing a range of probes even as Democrats under scrutiny remain in positions of power.
The 22-page document revealed that the ethics committee, as of late July, was looking into the activities of at least 19 lawmakers, including reviews of home mortgages and interviews about corporate-backed trips for members of Congress to Caribbean resorts. Combined with the inquiries being conducted by a new ethics office, the document showed a far more robust set of investigations than previously revealed.
But the document also brings potential political peril for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose party claimed the majority in November 2006 after she promised to "drain the swamp" of corruption on Capitol Hill. Two and a half years into Pelosi's reign, more than 25 Democrats have been targeted for ethics reviews by the two ethics bodies, while just seven Republicans appeared to be under scrutiny, according to the document."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
WSJ: Leak Offers Rare Peek at Congressional Ethics Probes
From the Wall Street Journal: "The accidental leak of a congressional ethics watchdog's report offers a rare glimpse into the internal workings of one of the most secretive bodies on Capitol Hill, revealing that the panel has dealt with a far larger number of lawmakers than previously publicly disclosed."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, October 30, 2009
NYT: Ethics Inquiries Into Lawmakers Surface via Security Breach; More Details From The Washington Post
The New York Times reports "The House ethics committee announced Thursday that it would begin full investigations into two House members, Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson, but a security breach threatened to make public the names of many other members facing ethics inquiries. . . . The security breach related to a document containing the names of more than two dozen members of Congress whose conduct had come into question, along with the status of those investigations, according to House officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
To avoid unfair damage to a lawmaker’s reputation, investigations usually become public only after a preliminary inquiry. . . . A committee statement about the security breach said a junior staff member, working from home, improperly placed a document listing all the continuing inquiries into a file-sharing software system to which people outside the committee had access. The staff member, whose name was not released, has been fired, and committee officials said Thursday that they did not know who had gained improper access to the document." The Washington Post first reported the ethics committee document.
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Politico: Ethics panel to probe Reps. Maxine Waters, Laura Richardson
Politico reports "The House ethics committee has voted to begin full-scale investigations into ethics allegations against Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters (Calif.) and Laura Richardson (Calif.), but decided against investigating Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.)."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
More on the Office of Congressional Ethics
Politico: Richardson case sent to ethics panel ("Sources tell POLITICO that the Office of Congressional Ethics has referred [Rep. Laura] Richardson’s case to the House ethics committee, which will be required to announce within days whether it’s going to pursue a full investigation. Richardson’s case is one of three OCE referrals the committee will consider Thursday. The others — both previously reported — involve Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.)."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Intrigue at the Office of Congressional Ethics
The Hill has two articles on the Office of Congressional Ethics. First, "OCE, House ethics committee fight over release of document," and second, "Pelosi faces pressure to intervene in ethics committee dispute."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, October 23, 2009
McClatchy: FBI looks at bribery allegations against Alaska Rep. Young
According to McClatchy, "An Alaska businessman admitted to giving gifts to Republican Rep. Don Young, the state's long-serving sole congressman, in a confession made public this week as part of an ongoing federal investigation into political corruption in the state."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
CQ Politics: GOP Alleges Grayson Breached Ethics Rules
CQ Politics reports "Republicans believe Rep. Alan Grayson , D-Fla., violated ethics rules when he took to the House floor Wednesday afternoon and promoted a new Web site which includes a link to a page that accepts donations to his re-election campaign. . . . Grayson brought a poster board to the House floor which touted the new Web site, www.namesofthedead.com, which he created with his own money. . . . The site has a link to Grayson’s campaign site where supporters can donate. House ethics rules prevent members from mixing official business with campaign business and from campaigning or fundraising in the Capitol."
Click here to read the entire post.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
New York Times: Congressional Ethics Inquiries Drag on, Despite Vows to End Corruption
From the New York Times: "With high-profile investigations under way against Democrats and Republicans, Congress is facing a series of difficult tests of the toughened ethics system that it put in place to weed out corruption and malfeasance among its members. Two years ago, after a scandal that centered on the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the House created an independent ethics office as part of what Speaker Nancy Pelosi called an effort to end the “culture of corruption” in Washington. The Senate also took action, setting up what it described as tough new regulations.
Since then, however, no member of Congress has been censured, the toughest punishment short of expulsion, despite a number of recent scandals involving sexual impropriety, financial dealings and conflicts of interest. The record illustrates how Congress has struggled to police itself after years in which its ethics committees were often derided as ineffectual."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Eliza Carney on Recent Ethics Cases
Eliza Carney writes in National Journal, "Extramarital affairs by onetime presidential hopeful John Edwards, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford have raised questions that go far beyond morality and character. In all three cases, irregular expenditures to facilitate or cover up the affairs have led to investigations that could end in serious criminal charges."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Politico: Department of Justice could take Sen. John Ensign case
From Politico: "The Justice Department is expected to decide within weeks whether to pursue a criminal probe into the relationship between Ensign (R-Nev.) and the staffer’s husband, and two prominent Washington defense attorneys say prosecutors are likely to find Ensign’s case irresistible. . . . The Senate Select Committee on Ethics has already begun a preliminary investigation. But if the Justice Department wants to pursue a criminal probe, the committee will almost certainly stand down until it finishes."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Hill: Watchdog comes back to bite Democrats
The Hill has this report on the very predictable result of "ethics reforms" that are enacted largely to highlight your opponents' shortcomings -- eventually, those new rules apply to you and your friends too.
According to The Hill, "Senior Democrats are taking shots at the House’s new ethics watchdog, which has come back to bite some caucus members a year after Democratic leaders created it. . . . The OCE [Office of Congressional Ethics], an independent ethics board made up mostly of former members of Congress, was the brainchild of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who pushed for an added layer of ethics oversight after Democrats won the majority in 2006. She succeeded in ramming legislation creating the OCE through the House despite serious opposition within her party."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Politico: House Ethics panel expands Charlie Rangel probe
Politico reports "Embattled Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) is headed for more trouble as the House ethics committee announced Thursday it has expanded its investigation to include Rangel’s financial disclosure reports, which show hundreds of thousands of dollars in previously undeclared personal assets and income."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
CNN: Ensign says he did not breach ethics rules
CNN reports "Sen. John Ensign told CNN Tuesday he did not break Senate ethics rules by helping to secure a lobbying job for the husband of the woman he had an affair with."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, October 05, 2009
Wash. Times: Ethics panel may open probe of Ensign
The Washington Times reports "The Senate ethics committee may open a full-scale investigation of Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign's purported flouting of ethics rules, Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, said Sunday. The committee is completing a preliminary investigation of Mr. Ensign, said Mrs. Boxer, who declined to discuss details of the inquiry two days after reports that Mr. Ensign was being lobbied by his mistress' husband, a consultant who secured his lobbying job with Mr. Ensign's help."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
New York Times: Inquiries on Senator Ensign Are Anticipated
The Times reports "The Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee are expected to conduct preliminary inquiries into whether Senator John Ensign violated federal law or ethics rules as part of an effort to conceal an affair with the wife of an aide, current and former officials said Friday. . . . The inquiries will most likely examine whether Mr. Ensign, a Nevada Republican, or Douglas Hampton, his one-time administrative assistant, broke the law after Mr. Hampton, immediately upon leaving his Congressional job last year, began to lobby Mr. Ensign’s office. Mr. Hampton, as a senior aide, was subject to a one-year lobbying ban, lawyers who specialize in ethics law said."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
New York Times: Focus on Rangel, a Chairman Under Investigation
The Times reports, "Republicans are intensifying efforts to make Mr. Rangel a symbol of Democratic misconduct and institutional arrogance because of his belated disclosure of personal assets and other financial missteps. Despite some unease, Democrats say they are willing to stand by Mr. Rangel and will resist efforts to topple him from his chairmanship pending the anxiously awaited outcome of an ethics investigation that Mr. Rangel himself requested last year."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
New York Times: Senator’s Aid to Mistress’s Husband Raises Ethics Flags
The New York Times has this update on Sen. Ensign's possible ethical problems. According to the Times, "While the affair made national news in June, the role that Mr. Ensign played in assisting Mr. Hampton and helping the clients he represented has not been previously disclosed. Several legal experts say those activities may have violated an ethics law that bans senior aides from lobbying the Senate for a year after leaving their posts."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
WSJ: Lawmaker Tried to Block U.S. Attorney Pick; Civil-Rights Icon John Lewis Called White House About Nomination of a Prosecutor Who Won Conviction of His Political Ally
The Wall Street Journal reports "Georgia Rep. John Lewis, one of Washington's most prominent Democrats, called the White House earlier this year to try to block the appointment of a federal prosecutor who won convictions against more than a dozen public officials in Atlanta -- including former Mayor Bill Campbell, a longtime friend and ally of Mr. Lewis. After queries from The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Lewis' contacted White House Counsel Greg Craig late last month to withdraw his objections to the nomination of the prosecutor, Sally Q. Yates, for U.S. Attorney in Atlanta. . . . There is nothing illegal about a member of Congress expressing opposition to a presidential appointment. But the story of Ms. Yates, 49 years old, illustrates that even after three years of controversy over allegations of partisan meddling in the work of U.S. attorneys during the Bush administration, politics remains part of the selection process."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Politico: House ethics watchdogs clash
Politico reports "The two House ethics watchdogs – the ethics committee and the independent Office of Congressional Ethics – are clashing over an investigation into whether Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) broke the rules when he asked a businessman with financial ties to the congressman’s wife to testify before Congress. In a statement released Wednesday by the House ethics committee said the Office of Congressional Ethics – made up of former lawmakers and ethics experts — did not provide certain 'exculpatory evidence' in Graves’ case. This is the first time the House panel and the outside ethics office have clashed over the policing of ethics rules in the House."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Hill: House ethics panel defers Jackson probe
From The Hill: "The House ethics committee has deferred an investigation into Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s alleged efforts to win President Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat while the Justice Department reviews the matter." Roll Call also reports.
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Campaigning as the Family Business
The Hill reports "More than two dozen members of Congress are paying family members thousands of dollars to work for their campaigns, according to a review of documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. . . . Lawmakers argue their family members are well-qualified for the tasks they perform, but reform advocates contend the very appearance of nepotism is strong enough to merit a ban. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) has introduced legislation to ban the practice, though it has gone nowhere."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
CQ Politics: Restrictions Put Dent In Congressional Travel
CQ Politics reports "Lawmaker trips sponsored by outside groups have decreased by 56 percent since the ethics and lobbying overhaul law was enacted two years ago, according to a CQ MoneyLine study of congressional travel. Since then, more than 2,300 former sponsors of lawmaker trips, including many corporations, government contractors and other groups that lobby, have stopped paying for such travel. Meanwhile, the average amount of money still spent on lawmaker-related travel by outside groups has dropped from $250,000 a month to $110,000 a month."
Click here to read the entire post.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Los Angeles Times Reports on Government-Sponsored Congressional Trips
The Los Angeles Times reports on government-sponsored congressional trips in this article focusing on Rep. Loretta Sanchez. According to the Times, "At a time when congressional travel is coming under new scrutiny, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove) has the distinction of taking more trips at taxpayer expense than anyone else in the California delegation. In the last 3 1/2 years, she visited the South Pole, snorkeled at Australia's Great Barrier Reef and joined world leaders at a security conference in Munich, Germany. She met with Darfur refugees in Sudan, attended a "legislators' dialogue" with European Parliament members in Slovenia, delivered a speech on transportation security in France and inspected anti-terrorism defenses in Genoa, Italy, and Mombasa, Kenya. All told, she has made 20 overseas trips since the start of 2006, touching down on every continent. Last year, she went abroad seven times. Many times she used military flights, but one commercial flight from Australia to Britain cost $8,383."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
The Hill: Groups want counsel for Rangel probe
The Hill reports "Exasperated watchdog groups are calling for a special counsel to intervene in the ethics committee probe of Rep. Charles Rangel. The good-government officials say they are astounded by Rangel’s (D-N.Y.) disclosure last week of at least $650,000 in assets that he previously had failed to list on his House financial disclosure forms. And they are frustrated that the House ethics committee has not issued findings on Rangel, who requested that the panel investigate him in July 2008. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in November 2008 that she expected the probe to be completed in January 2009."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
WSJ: Lawmakers' Global-Warming Trip Hit Tourist Hot Spots
The Wall Street Journal reports "When 10 members of Congress wanted to study climate change, they did more than just dip their toes into the subject: They went diving and snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. They also rode a cable car through the Australian rain forest, visited a penguin rookery and flew to the South Pole.
The 11-day trip -- with six spouses traveling along as well -- took place over New Year's 2008. Details are only now coming to light as part of a Wall Street Journal analysis piecing together the specifics of the excursion. . . . Taxpayer-funded travel for Congress is booming. Legislators and aides reported spending about $13 million on overseas trips last year, a Journal analysis has shown, a nearly 10-fold jump since 1995."
Click here to read the entire post.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Wash. Times: Dodd, Conrad cleared of ethics violations; Admonished for agreeing to rates
The Washington Times reports "The Senate Ethics Committee on Friday cleared Democratic Sens. Christopher J. Dodd and Kent Conrad of wrongdoing for low-interest mortgages they received in a VIP program, though the panel admonished the pair for a lack of judgment.
The committee, after a yearlong investigation, said it found "no substantial credible evidence" that the home loans secured with Countrywide Financial Corp. violated Senate ethics rules. . . . But the panel said both should have "exercised more vigilance" in their dealings with now-defunct Countrywide Financial in order to avoid the appearance of receiving preferential treatment based on their status as senators."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
National Journal: 13 Democrats Facing Probes As Recess Begins
National Journal notes:
"As Congress heads into its summer recess, some members have more worries to take home with them than others.
According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 17 representatives and senators are known to currently be under investigation for breaking ethical standards. Of those under investigation, 13 are Democratic members and four are Republican members.
Charges range from steering earmarked funds toward associates to tax evasion to receiving preferential mortgage rates."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Roll Call: Dodd, Conrad at Center of Probe
Roll Call reports "The Senate Ethics Committee is aggressively investigating whether Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) received preferential mortgage treatment through Countrywide Financial, with sources saying the inquiry could come to a conclusion in the near future."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, July 24, 2009
USA Today: Lobbyists get power access via caucuses
From USA Today: "Lobbyists and businesses that employ them donated $5.8 million last year to foundations affiliated with congressional groups, a USA TODAY analysis of federal lobbying data shows. Nearly all of it — $5.7 million — went to non-profit groups connected to the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, according to the analysis. Under congressional rules, the caucuses face limits on how much public money they can use to support their activities. They also are barred from using private funds to operate. However, nothing stops lobbyists from writing big checks to the non-profits connected to caucuses."
Click here to read the entire post.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Roll Call: Democrats Block GOP Health Care Mailing
This Roll Call article highlights a dispute in the House over the franking rules: "Democrats are preventing Republican House Members from sending their constituents a mailing that is critical of the majority’s health care reform plan, blocking the mailing by alleging that it is inaccurate. House Republicans are crying foul and claiming that the Democrats are using their majority to prevent GOP Members from communicating with their constituents. . . . In a memo sent Monday to Republicans on the House franking commission, Democrats argue that sending the chart to constituents as official mail would violate House rules because the information is misleading."
Click here to read the entire post.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Washington Post: Conservative Group Calls For Probe Of Conyers; Wife's Case Raises Disclosure Issue
The Washington Post reports "A conservative legal foundation this week urged the House ethics panel to investigate Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) as new details emerged about his wife's involvement in a Detroit bribery scheme. Though Monica Conyers, a Detroit City Council member, pleaded guilty last month and admitted taking several thousand dollars in the scheme, charges filed Wednesday against one of her former top aides allege that the councilwoman took at least $65,000 from people seeking contracts from the council or a pension board on which she sat in 2006 and 2007. Federal prosecutors in Michigan accuse Conyers and the aide of using their positions in government to engage in a 'persistent and continuing pattern of extortion and bribery.' Prosecutors said last month that they had 'no suggestion' the congressman was aware of his wife's activities."
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wash. Times: Rep. Perlmutter part owns 'green' bank he helped; Provision in bill would aid family members, political donor
The Washington Times reports "Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado inserted a provision into the recently passed House climate change bill that would drum up business for "green" banks, such as the one he has invested in and his family and a political donor helped found in San Francisco. The bill calls on bank regulators to promote green banking and says federal dollars should be used to support energy-efficient home improvements at government-funded housing projects. Mr. Perlmutter, a two-term Democrat, has two investments in the 3-year-old New Resource Bank, which calls itself the nation's first green bank."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Wash. Times: Ethics probe of Rep. Conyers sought; Group decries letter to EPA on project tied to wife's deals
The Washington Times reports "The Landmark Legal Foundation filed Monday a House ethics complaint against Rep. John Conyers Jr., Michigan Democrat, over his role in writing a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency that supported a waste project tied to his wife, a former Detroit City Council member who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. . . . The foundation said Mr. Conyers attempted to influence the EPA on behalf of a family member, whose office reviewed a draft of the EPA letter he sent. He also violated house rules by failing to report funds in a transaction by his wife, the complaint stated."
Click here to read the entire post.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Conflict of Interest?
The Hill reports "The chairman of a House ethics probe into a Caribbean conference attended by members of the Congressional Black Caucus is himself a CBC member who attended the same event in 2005. Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), the former judge chosen to chair the ethics probe, has vowed to lead a fair investigation into trips taken by CBC members to St. Maarten in 2008 and Antigua and Barbuda in 2007. But the ethics watchdogs that have called for an investigation into whether corporations paid for the trips, which would violate House ethics rules, question whether a CBC member should be leading the official probe set up by the House ethics panel. They also argue that it is improper for someone who attended the Caribbean conference to lead an investigation into whether it violated House rules."
Click here to read the entire post.
Monday, July 06, 2009
WSJ: Electronic Outreach Tests House Rules
The Wall Street Journal reports "House members are spending millions in taxpayer funds on email and other electronic outreach to voters, often in ways that avoid their traditional rules on constituent communications. . . . Congressional rules bar lawmakers from using their free-mail privilege -- known as franking -- to send mass mailings through the U.S. Postal Service in the 90 days before an election. One goal of those limits is to curtail the advantage of incumbency and to discourage entrenched lawmakers from driving up taxpayer costs in a flurry of pre-election appeals to potential voters. But rules for email, congressional Web sites and social-media tools are far less restrictive, and in some cases nonexistent."
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Sunday, July 05, 2009
Washington Post: Wife's Guilty Plea Raises Question of What Conyers Knew; 'No Suggestions' Lawmaker Was Involved
The Washington Post has this report Rep. John Conyers and his wife, Monica Conyers. Monica Conyers, formerly a Detroit City Councilwoman, recently pleaded guilty to bribery charges. According to the Post, "Federal prosecutors in Detroit took pains to say that they had 'no suggestions' that John Conyers knew of or was involved in the two-year-long bribery investigation . . . . Monica Conyers, 44, appeared on a local television station this week to resign as the council's second in command, apologize to Detroit residents and denounce a former aide about whom, she said, her husband had warned her. Questions about what the 80-year-old congressman may have known about his spouse's supplements to their finances continue to swirl, as do inquiries about how closely federal investigators examined him about the issues." UPDATE. Politico: Wife's scandal dinging John Conyers.
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Saturday, July 04, 2009
No Earmarks For Projects Named After Sitting Members of Congress
The Los Angeles times has this report on House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey's (D-Wis.) refusal to grant earmark requests for projects named after sitting members of Congress. "The decision to deny funding for what critics call 'monuments to me' comes as the number of projects named after their congressional benefactors has grown in recent years. It used to be buildings were named after deceased lawmakers. But now all kinds of projects can be found named for the living: the Jerry Lewis Family Swim Center in San Bernardino, the Congressman David Dreier Water Treatment Facility in Baldwin Park and the James E. Clyburn Pedestrian Overpass in South Carolina, to name a few. West Virginia has dozens of projects named for Sen. Robert C. Byrd, a master of pork-barrel politics: roads, schools, a courthouse, even a dam and a telescope." The LA Times story focuses on The Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center.
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Politico: Ten months in, new twist in Rangel ethics inquiry
Politico reports: "Already embroiled in an ethics probe now entering its tenth month, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, received more bad news Wednesday night as the House ethics committee announced it would look into Caribbean trips taken by the veteran lawmaker and four other Democrats. In a statement released late Wednesday night, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the chairwoman and ranking member of the ethics committee, announced that the panel had voted to create a four-member investigative subcommittee to determine whether the trips violated House gift rules. . . . In addition to Rangel, other lawmakers who participated in the Caribbean trips include Reps. Carolyn Kirkpatrick (D-Mich.), Donald Payne (D-N.J.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Delegate Donna Christian-Christensen (D-V.I.)."
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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Hill: Black caucus criticizes ethics probe of trip to the Caribbean
The Hill reports "An investigation into a trip taken by members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is triggering a backlash against the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s signature ethics proposal. CBC members, frustrated at what they perceive as an accusation by a conservative group that’s been blown out of proportion, last week formed a working group to look at taking on the 2006 resolution that created the OCE. 'We might need to revisit that law,' a source said."
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Friday, June 12, 2009
CQ Politics: Ethics Panel Says It Has Begun Review of Lawmakers' Links to PMA Lobbying Firm
CQ Politics reports "The House ethics committee indicated Thursday that it was reviewing the links between a number of lawmakers and the now-defunct lobbying firm The PMA Group. The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the panel is called, issued a statement responding to a resolution (H Res 500) the House adopted June 3. The resolution directed the ethics committee to notify the chamber if it was examining the PMA matter."
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
The Hill: Ethics panel probes alleged Rangel quid pro quo
The Hill reports "The House ethics committee is investigating an alleged quid pro quo between Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and an oil company executive, the subject of a lengthy New York Times article published in December. Eugene Isenberg, the oil executive accused of trying to influence Rangel through a $1 million donation to the education center bearing Rangel's name, is cooperating with an ethics committee investigation into the matter and predicts that the panel will find no wrongdoing."
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Monday, June 08, 2009
USA Today: Lobbyists unlimited in honoring lawmakers
USA Today has this article on lobbyist spending to "honor" lawmakers. According to the report, "Despite a ban on gifts to lawmakers and limits on campaign contributions, lobbyists and groups that employ them can spend unlimited money to honor members of Congress or donate to non-profits connected to them or their relatives. The public — until now — had little insight into the scope of this largely hidden world of special-interest influence. Under ethics rules passed in 2007, lobbyists for the first time last year had to report any payment made for an event or to a group connected to a lawmaker and other top federal officials. USA TODAY undertook the first comprehensive analysis of the lobbying reports and found 2,759 payments, totaling $35.8 million, were made in 2008. The money went to honor 534 current and former lawmakers, almost 250 other federal officials and more than 100 groups, many of which count lawmakers among their members."
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Thursday, June 04, 2009
CNN: House votes to force ethics committee to report whether it's investigating PMA
CNN has this unusual report: "The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to force the House ethics committee to report whether or not it is investigating any misconduct by House members relating to the PMA Group, a lobbying firm that secured millions of dollars in earmarks for its clients. The vote on a resolution offered by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was 270-134. Seventeen members voted present, including all of the members of the ethics committee. The Democratic resolution instructs the panel to report back to the full House in 45 days."
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Thursday, June 04, 2009
Wall Street Journal: House Lifts Lid On Its Expenses
The Wall Street Journal reports "The House will begin posting representatives' expense reports online, giving the public easy access to records of the millions of dollars lawmakers spend on staff and items such as catering, cars, computers and TVs. Separately, Sen. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) said Wednesday he would introduce a bill requiring the expense records be posted online in the Senate, as well."
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Tuesday, June 02, 2009
The Hill: Caribbean trip under scrutiny by House panel
The Hill has this House investigation update: "The House ethics committee is reviewing a trip Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and several other members took to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten last year. Ethics committee Staff Director Blake Chisam and Todd Ungerecht, counsel to the panel’s ranking member, have asked for information from a conservative group that has raised questions about a November 2008 conference at the St. Maarten Sonesta Maho Bay Resort & Casino. . . . The conservative National Legal and Policy Center’s president, Peter Flaherty, traveled to St. Maarten and found evidence that corporate sponsors paid for the conference."
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Sunday, May 31, 2009
AP: Corruption probe heats up on Capitol Hill
AP reports "A federal grand jury has subpoenaed a Democratic congressman in a corruption probe, the first concrete indication that a long-simmering Justice Department investigation of a top lobbying firm also has the potential to seriously damage congressional careers. On Friday, Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., acknowledged the grand jury has demanded documents from his office, some employees and his campaign committees. The probe focuses on the PMA Group, a now-defunct lobbying firm that specialized in securing federal contracts for defense firms from Visclosky, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., and others on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee that Murtha chairs."
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Politico: Top Dem: 'Don't be a Flake'
Politico reports "As the House prepared to vote this week on Republican Rep. Jeff Flake’s push for an ethics investigation involving Rep. John Murtha and other senior appropriators, Democratic leaders sent an unmistakable message to their members: 'Don’t be a Flake.' That was the subject line of an e-mail that staffers for first- and second-term Democrats received Tuesday from Rep. Chris Van Hollen, assistant to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The message said that Democrats would once again be 'voting to table another Flake resolution' — and it made clear that leadership would have its eyes on any Democrats even thinking about defecting."
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Friday, May 01, 2009
CQ Politics: Watchdog Groups Join Calls for PMA Probe
CQ Politics reports "House Democratic leaders face new pressure from four watchdog groups usually allied with them to open an investigation into the ties between three powerful Democrats and the now-defunct lobbying firm The PMA Group. Democracy 21, Common Cause, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG on Thursday called on the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to probe the relationship PMA had with Democratic Reps. John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, Peter J. Visclosky of Indiana and James P. Moran of Virginia. The lawmakers secured lucrative earmarks for defense contractors represented by The PMA Group and received political donations from family members of the lobbying firm’s founder. The groups made the request in a letter sent Thursday and also notified the recently created Office of Congressional Ethics."
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
CQ Politics: Sources: Wiretap Recorded Rep. Harman Promising to Intervene for AIPAC
According to CQ Politics, "Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington. . . . In exchange for Harman's help, the sources said, the suspected Israeli agent pledged to help lobby Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections, which the Democrats were heavily favored to win. Seemingly wary of what she had just agreed to, according to an official who read the NSA transcript, Harman hung up after saying, 'This conversation doesn't exist.'" The New York Times adds a campaign cash angle to the story.
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
Politico: Ethics office launches 10 probes
From Politico: "The Office of Congressional Ethics has authorized preliminary or 'second phase' reviews of 10 different ethics matters, although it has not made any formal recommendations to the House ethics committee for full-scale investigations, according to its first publicly released report."
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Politico: Turnover on panel slows progress
Politico reports that "For the past eight months, the House ethics committee has been without its top staffer and chief counsel, a vacancy that comes as the panel struggles to forge ahead on investigations of high-profile Democrats."
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Tuesday, April 14, 2009
New York Times: Investigators Take Closer Look at Rep. Jackson in Blagojevich Case
From the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors would not comment on the investigation, but lawyers who are familiar with it said Mr. Jackson was pressed earlier this month about his contacts with Mr. Blagojevich, who has since been removed from office and indicted on racketeering and other charges. Prosecutors want to know whether Mr. Jackson had initiated any deals with Mr. Blagojevich or his staff, the lawyers said, and whether he knew that anyone was working on his behalf to secure the seat."
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Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Chicago Sun-Times: Ethics board launches probe into Rep Jesse Jackson Jr.
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the new Office of Congressional Ethics "has launched a preliminary inquiry into U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), related to President Obama's vacant Senate seat and the corruption investigation of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich."
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Saturday, April 04, 2009
New York Times: Lawmaker Said to Surface in Lobbying Inquiry
The NY Times reports that "Federal law enforcement officials who raided the lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti’s PMA Group appear to be examining the firm’s relationship with Representative Peter J. Visclosky, a low-profile lawmaker with big influence over federal spending, people familiar with the matter said this week. . . . Two people close to Mr. Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat, said he was taking steps to prepare for legal scrutiny, including retaining lawyers to review his compliance with campaign finance laws."
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Friday, April 03, 2009
Not Likely: Alaska Republicans Call For Begich Resignation, New Senate Election
The New York Times reports that "Outrage among Republicans is building in Alaska over the Justice Department’s apparent mishandling of its prosecution of former Senator Ted Stevens, a Republican, prompting calls for a new election to give him a chance to win back his seat without a legal cloud hanging over him."
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Thursday, April 02, 2009
Boston Globe: Lobbyists under scrutiny linked to Capuano donors; Earmarks went to Mass. clients
The Boston Globe reports that "US Representative Michael E. Capuano, Democrat of Somerville, received more than $60,000 in campaign contributions from donors associated with a high-powered lobbying firm at the center of an FBI investigation, and inserted earmarks for three of the firm's Massachusetts clients into recent defense spending bills. The firm, the PMA Group, is reportedly under federal scrutiny for using straw donors to funnel illegal campaign contributions to dozens of lawmakers."
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Thursday, April 02, 2009
New York Times Editors Support PMA Group Inquiry
From the NY Times editorial page: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi should listen to the wise Democrats who are pushing for an ethics inquiry into the far-too-cozy relationship between lawmakers and the PMA Group of superlobbyists."
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Thursday, April 02, 2009
More on the Ted Stevens Case
Articles from the New York Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and others.
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Wednesday, April 01, 2009
NPR: Justice Dept. Seeks To Void Stevens' Conviction
NPR reports that "The Justice Department on Wednesday asked a federal judge to drop all charges against former Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska." According to the report, "U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he has decided to drop the case against Stevens rather than continue to defend the conviction in the face of persistent problems stemming from the actions of prosecutors."
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Politico: Slow start for Pelosi's new watchdogs
Politico reports on the work of the new Office of Congressional Ethics: "But while the new Office of Congressional Ethics is finally in operation — a year after the House authorized it and more than two years after Pelosi was sworn in as speaker — the office has little to show for its work and is encumbered by layers of secrecy. It may be July at the earliest before the office reveals whether it has actually recommended any cases to the House ethics committee, and the specifics of its investigations will remain shrouded from public view."
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009
AP: THE INFLUENCE GAME: Mixing donations, earmarks
The AP provides some interesting background in the PMA Group investigation into possible connections between campaign contributions and earmarks, with the focus on Representatives Murtha, Visclosky and Moran.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
CQ Politics: Burris Seeks Permission to Establish Legal Defense Fund
CQ Politics reports that "Democratic Sen. Roland W. Burris has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to let him raise money to help deal with the cost of inquiries about his appointment by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich."
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Monday, March 23, 2009
Seattle Times: FBI investigates lobbying firm that is generous donor to Dicks, Murray
The Seattle Times examines the PMA Group investigation from Washington State.
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Friday, March 20, 2009
New York Times Supports Rep. Flake's Efforts to Investigate PMA Group Contributions & Earmarks
The New York Times editorializes: "Mr. Flake has picked the right place to start the investigating: some of the PMA Group’s lobbyists learned their craft as staffers in the appropriations subcommittee led by Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania. Once in the free-enterprise zone, the PMA Group scored numerous defense earmarks and doled out generous gifts to Mr. Murtha and other subcommittee members.
This relationship cries out for an ethics inquiry. And we are pleased that Mr. Flake is refusing to be discouraged by his colleagues’ lack of courage."
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Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Washington Post: Research Center's Role Faces Scrutiny; Advice From Murtha Allies Guided Funding Requests, Documents Show
The Washington Post reports that "A Pennsylvania defense research center regularly consulted with two 'handlers' close to Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) as it collected nearly $250 million in federal funding through the lawmaker, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post and sources familiar with the funding requests. The center then channeled a significant portion of the funding to companies that were among Murtha's campaign supporters."
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Thursday, March 12, 2009
CQ Politics: PMA Lobbyist, Relatives Gave Lawmakers $1.5 Million Since 2000
CQ Politics has analyzed the campaign contributions of the PMA Group's founder and family: "A defense lobbyist and his family made $1.5 million in political contributions from 2000 through 2008 as the lobbyist’s now-embattled firm helped clients win billions of dollars in federal contracts. A sizable chunk of those campaign dollars went to the House members who control Pentagon spending."
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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
AP: Ex-Cochran aide pleads guilty in corruption probe
AP reports that "A former longtime aide to Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran pleaded guilty Tuesday to swapping legislative favors for event tickets and other gifts from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff's firm."
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Politico: GOP says ethics turnabout is fair play
From Politico: "House Republicans are stepping up their attacks on Democrats over ethics issues — and they’re stealing a page from Nancy Pelosi’s playbook to do it. Over the past three weeks, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has filed three privileged resolutions calling for a House ethics committee probe into the connection between earmarks and campaign contributions."
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Friday, March 06, 2009
Politico: House turns back call for PMA probe
From Politico: "The House on Thursday night turned back another call to investigate the PMA Group, a once-powerful lobbying firm whose offices were recently raided by the FBI and which has close ties to Pennsylvania Rep. John P. Murtha (D). Twenty-one Democrats, including nine freshmen, voted to proceed with debate on the measure offered by Arizona Rep. Jeff Flake (R) calling for an investigation of the lobbying firm."
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Monday, March 02, 2009
Washington Times: Sen. Hatch's secret drug firm links; Drugmaker money to Utah senator's charity escaped disclosure
The Washington Times reports this morning, "The pharmaceutical industry that long has benefited from Sen. Orrin G. Hatch´s legislative efforts has directed large sums of money to a charity he helped found - and still raises money for - while also hiring the Republican lawmaker's son as a lobbyist."
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Friday, February 27, 2009
AP Exclusive: Gregg had stake in, won aid for base
From the AP: "President Barack Obama's former nominee to become commerce secretary, Sen. Judd Gregg, steered taxpayer money to his home state's redevelopment of a former Air Force base even as he and his brother engaged in real estate deals there, an Associated Press investigation found."
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Update: Rep. Flake's Earmark Resolution Tabled
From The Hill: "Democratic leaders were successful in tabling Flake’s measure, essentially killing the bill that would have forced the ethics committee to scrutinize the link between earmarks and campaign cash and report back to the full body in two months."
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
Politico: CREW files Brownback complaint
From Politico: "Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington . . . filed a Senate ethics complaint against Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) over the use of faux Senate letterhead in a fundraising letter on behalf of a conservative Catholic group."
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
CQ Politics: House to Vote on Earmark Ethics Probe as PMA Clients Show up in Omnibus
CQ Politics reports that "the House will vote as early as Tuesday on whether to start an ethics investigation into the relationship between earmarks and campaign contributions."
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Saturday, February 21, 2009
WP: Abramoff Scandal Yields More Charges
From the Washington Post: "A former legislative aide to Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) was accused yesterday of accepting more than $25,000 worth of meals and event tickets from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for helping his clients."
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
More on Murtha
CQ Politics: Firm with Murtha Ties Got Earmarks From Nearly One-Fourth of House. ("More than 100 House members secured earmarks in a major spending bill for clients of a single lobbying firm — The PMA Group — known for its close ties to John P. Murtha, the congressman in charge of Pentagon appropriations.")
Click here to read the entire post.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
NYT: 2 Investigations Into Burris Are Begun
From the New York Times: "The United States Senate Ethics Committee and a local Illinois prosecutor began investigations on Tuesday into the recently appointed junior senator for Illinois, Roland W. Burris, over Mr. Burris’s shifting, inconsistent descriptions of how he came to be named to the seat vacated by the election of President Obama."
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Senate Ethics Committee May Look Into Sen. Burris Statements
Politico reports that the Senate Ethics Committee may open a "preliminary inquiry" into questions surrounding the truthfulness of Sen. Burris' earlier statements regarding whether he raised funds for former Governor Blagojevich.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Politico: DOJ removes Stevens' prosecutors
Politico reports that "the Justice Department has removed the prosecution team that won the corruption conviction of former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) from any further litigation in the case, according to a new court filing."
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Friday, February 13, 2009
House Ethics Committee Issues New "Pink Sheet"
The House Ethics Committee has issued a new "pink sheet" titled, "The 2009 Outside Earned Income Limit and Salaries Triggering the Financial Disclosure Requirement and Post-Employment Restrictions."
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
Feds Investigating Campaign Contributions to Rep. Murtha
Federal investigators are looking into campaign contributions from lobbyists with ties to Representative John Murtha, according to the New York Times.
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Thursday, February 12, 2009
House Ethics Committee Re-Authorizes Rangel Investigation
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Monday, February 02, 2009
Senate Ethics Committee Issues 2008 Report
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Hill: Caribbean trip may have broken rules
"Several lawmakers took a post-election trip to a luxurious Caribbean resort that may have breached House ethics rules because of corporate involvement."
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