House Members to Hit Wilson with Ethics Complaint?Earlier this week, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wrote a letter to the House ethics committee, requesting that they investigate whether Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) broke ethics rules by calling U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and questioning him about his office’s investigation of a prominent state Democrat.
But there’s a funny thing about the ethics committee in the House. Unlike in the Senate, a complaint does not automatically trigger a preliminary investigation. For that to happen, a member of the House has to file a referral. And, because of an ongoing ethics truce between the parties, that is exceedingly rare.
Take, for instance, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-MD) remarks to Roll Call about Wilson (sub. req.). âI believe the House [ethics committee] ought to take it under consideration,â he said, but…
âAm I going to file a complaint? The answer is no. It has been my consistent position that the ethics committee has a responsibility … when issues are raised in the public sphere … I would hope they would do that.â
In other words, he’s not going to do anything about it but “hope.”
But now The Los Angeles Times reports, “Congressional sources say that fellow lawmakers may file a complaint with the House Ethics Committee.”
Who will that brave soul be?
CREW’s Naomi Seligman Steiner isn’t holding her breath. “Iâll believe it when I see it,” she told me.
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