Vern Buchanan

Sessions Defends Buchanan Over Allegations Of Illegal Campaign Finance Scheme

Ryan J. Reilly | December 16, 2011, 2:00PM

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is defending NRCC Finance Chair Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) over allegations he schemed to illegally reimburse employees of his former car dealership for donations to his political campaign.

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Jack Abramoff

Corruption 101: Abramoff Takes His New Reforming Zeal To Harvard

Eric Lach | December 7, 2011, 8:54AM

Lawrence Lessig, and Jack Abramoff (Associated Press / Roll Call)

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- On Tuesday night, disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an invited guest of Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Center For Ethics, for the first event in a series at the center featuring interviews with "the guilty, not the innocent or inspirational."

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Joe Walsh

Tea Party-Backed Rep. Walsh Lists No Child Support Debt On Financial Forms

Susan Crabtree | August 9, 2011, 6:00AM

Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), a Tea-Party darling who has made a name for himself on the talk show circuit lecturing Democrats to get the nation's finances in order, has been under fire in recent weeks over charges that he's a deadbeat dad, owing more than $100,000 in child support.

Last Thursday, Walsh told constituents at a townhall that he plans to "privately and legally" fight his ex-wife's claims that he owes more than $100,000 in child support, which he called "wildly inaccurate." A recent Chicago Sun-Times article reported that his ex-wife is suing him for $117,000 in unpaid support.

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David Wu

Rep. David Wu Formally Resigns From House

Ryan J. Reilly | August 3, 2011, 8:15PM

Rep. David Wu (D-OR)

Oregon Rep. David Wu (D) announced Wednesday evening that he has notified Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) of his resignation, effective from 11:59 p.m.

Wu, who has been accused of having an "unwanted" sexual encounter with the teenage daughter of a campaign donor, announced that he would resign following a vote on the debt ceiling, which took place this week.

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David M. Rivera

FBI, IRS Investigating Rep. Rivera For Possible Tax Evasion

Ryan J. Reilly | July 25, 2011, 11:10AM

Rep. David Rivera (R-FL)

Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) is facing a federal investigation over allegations he didn't pay taxes on a secret million-dollar contract he signed in 2006 between as casino and a company started by his mother, the Associated Press reported.

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Ken Ard

Grand Jury To Investigate Playstation-Buying SC Lt. Governor

Jillian Rayfield | July 22, 2011, 6:02AM

SC Lieut. Gov. Ken Ard (R)

The case of Ken Ard (R), the South Carolina Lieutenant Governor who admitted to using campaign funds to buy items like iPads and a Playstation, has been sent to a grand jury for an investigation.

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Ethics

Watt, House GOP Leaders, Plan Sneak Attack On Ethics Office

Susan Crabtree | July 21, 2011, 12:23PM

Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC)

Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), with the help of Republicans leaders, is launching a sneak attack on the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), the only quasi-independent ethics watchdog policing the behavior of members of Congress.

Watt, a prominent member of the Congressional Black Caucus, may be looking for some retribution against the office for investigating him last year. Along with a bipartisan group of several other members, Watt was part of a wide-ranging OCE probe into the propriety of holding fundraising events with big players in the financial sector within days -- or even on the very day -- of a vote on the Wall Street reform bill. He and the other members were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing but not before the investigation leaked to the press and he and the other members made "under investigation" headlines.

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Ethics Panel

Conflicted Out? Bonner To Control $500K For Waters Special Prosecutor

Susan Crabtree | July 20, 2011, 4:47PM

Watchdogs are busy extolling the Ethics Committee decision earlier Wednesday to hire an outside counsel to investigate the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), as well as allegations that its own staff and members engaged in a pattern of prosecutorial abuse.

But a review of the special prosecutor's contract, obtained by TPM, raises new conflict-of-interest questions for the beleaguered ethics panel.

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Maxine Waters

Ethics Hires Special Prosecutor For Waters' Case Amid Turmoil

Susan Crabtree | July 20, 2011, 1:09PM

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

The House Ethics Committee has hired a special prosecutor to handle the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a two-year investigation that has become mired in allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and partisan maneuvering.

The panel announced the hire of Billy Martin, a partner at the Washington office of Dorsey & Whitney, in a lengthy statement Wednesday, which came in the wake of an unprecedented document leak airing the committee's dirty laundry in excruciating detail. It was a unanimous decision, the panel said.

The scores of Ethics Committee e-mails and memos, reported by Politico Monday with links to the documents, paint a picture of a committee consumed by partisan dysfunction and accusations of professional misconduct surrounding Waters' case.

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Ethics

Watchdogs: Bonner Has To Go To Fix Broken House Ethics System

Susan Crabtree | July 19, 2011, 4:56PM

Reps. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Ethics watchdogs are calling on Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) to step down as chairman of the House Ethics Committee -- at least temporarily -- for his role in the ongoing turmoil over Rep. Maxine Waters' (D-CA) case.

"I think there needs to be an investigation into the whole matter, including Mr. Bonner's role and that Mr. Bonner should step aside during the course of that investigation," Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told TPM Tuesday. "If Mr. Bonner is found to have broken the committee's rules, he should be sanctioned by the full House."

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Eric Massa

He's Baaaack. House Ethics Committee Votes To Continue Massa Case

Susan Crabtree | July 15, 2011, 2:54PM

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

When Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) left Congress amid a cloud of charges that he inappropriately touched and sexually harassed a male staffer, most of his Democratic colleagues hoped the issue would fade away -- or at least disappear from public view.

But the House Ethics Committee announced Friday that it has voted to continue an investigation it began last year.

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Ken Ard

SC Attorney General May Investigate Lt. Gov. Who Spent Campaign Cash On A Playstation

Jillian Rayfield | July 8, 2011, 6:00AM

SC Lieut. Gov. Ken Ard (R)

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) is reviewing the case of Lieutenant Gov. Ken Ard (R), following a settlement between Ard and the state's Ethics Commission over his illegal campaign expenditures on, among other things, a Playstation, women's clothing, and his wife's cell phone bill.

Wilson requested Ard's file this week "to determine what, if any, prosecutorial action may be warranted," spokesman Mark Plowden said, The State reports. But, Plowden said, "this Review should not be confused with an 'investigation,' in that we have not asked any law enforcement agency to do so at this time. We do not have a time frame."

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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)

Ethics Committee Can't Sweep Turmoil Over Waters Case Under The Rug

Susan Crabtree | July 5, 2011, 5:45AM

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Ethics experts say the House still has a lot of explaining to do when it comes to its handling of the corruption case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) last fall, which resulted in partisan backbiting, deep mistrust between Republicans and Democrats on the panel and the suspension of the lead attorney and an assistant a week before the matter was set to go to public trial.

The ethics panel has been at a virtual standstill for eight months since its internal dissension exploded onto the headlines of political publications and the Washington Post in early December. On Friday the panel announced it was extending separate investigations into Reps. Greg Meeks (D-NY), Jean Schmidt (R-OH), and two aides, but a source said the committee was forced to continue those probes because it had yet to begin looking into the matters in earnest.

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South Carolina

SC Lt. Gov. Reimburses Campaign For Cash Spent On Playstation, Women's Clothes

Jillian Rayfield | July 1, 2011, 3:48PM

SC Lieut. Gov. Ken Ard (R)

South Carolina Lt. Governor Ken Ard (R) has settled his 107 ethics violations with the State Ethics Commission, and agreed to pay a $48,400 fine, cover the cost of the investigation, and reimburse his campaign for $12,121 in illegal expenditures.

Among those expenditures, Corey Hutchins of the South Carolina Free Times reports, was Ard's wife's phone bill and more than $3000 at Best Buy for a "Playstation 3, a flat-screen TV, an iPod Touch 8G, and two 3G iPads." Ard initially claimed the purchases were "computer equip" for "campaign and office-related purposes."

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CREW

Ethics Group Says Richardson Made Staffers Cross Line Into Political Work

Ryan J. Reilly | June 28, 2011, 3:00PM

Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)

A ethics watchdog is asking the FBI to investigate whether Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA) was misusing her congressional staffers to by forcing them to work at campaign events and run personal errands, a violation of federal law.

The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said in a letter to the FBI's Washington field office that "requiring staff members to engage in campaign-related activities undermines the basic principle that government funds should not be spent to help incumbents gain re-election."

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Anthony Weiner

Pelosi Officially Asks For Weiner Ethics Investigation

Susan Crabtree | June 7, 2011, 3:27PM

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) officially requested an ethics investigation of Rep. Anthony Weiner's (D-NY) extramarital sexual online relationships with six woman after he admitted sending lewd photos of himself in a chaotic news conference Monday.

In a terse letter sent Tuesday, Pelosi called for an Ethics Committee investigation "to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred." She first said she would call for an ethics probe Monday almost immediately after Weiner admitted to concocting an elaborate hacking tale to keep the online sexual encounters under wraps.

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Anthony Weiner

Weiner Faces Mounting Legal And Ethics Questions Over Sexting Scandal

Susan Crabtree | June 7, 2011, 12:13PM

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY)

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) may be in far more ethical and legal trouble than initially thought.

New information about Weiner's use of Congressional resources to conduct extramarital online relationships -- and possibly to help manage the chaotic public relations fallout since their discovery over Memorial Day weekend -- is raising red flags for ethics watchdogs.

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Ethics

After Four-Month Impasse, House Ethics Taps Staff Director

Susan Crabtree | May 2, 2011, 6:16PM

This story was updated at 9:43 a.m.

The House Ethics Committee selected a staff director and chief counsel Monday evening, ending a four-month impasse that had the panel's investigative functions at a standstill, the House Ethics Committee said in a statement.

The panel unanimously chose Daniel Schwager, who currently serves as a counsel for the Senate Ethics Committee and previously worked in the public-integrity section of the Justice Department, the two House sources indicated. The vote on the evenly divided panel was 9-0 with Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) absent.

Both Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL), who chairs the panel, and its ranking member, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), strongly recommended Schwager, the sources told TPM.

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John Ensign

Reid: Ethics Committee Is 'Obligated' To Issue Ensign Report

Susan Crabtree | April 27, 2011, 4:31PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was traveling on an official trip to China last week when his scandal-scarred Nevada GOP colleague, John Ensign, announced his resignation so he hasn't had a chance to comment until now.

Reid told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that he thinks the Senate Ethics Committee will issue a final report on the charges surrounding Ensign's affair with a top staffer's wife and the creative steps he took to keep it quiet.

In fact, he said, the panel doesn't have a choice.

"They are obligated to come up with a report," he said, noting that he had previously served as chairman of the ethics panel for many years.

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John Ensign

Ensign Still On The Ethics Hook After Resigning

Susan Crabtree | April 22, 2011, 3:47PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Scandal-scarred Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) may have hoped resigning would keep quiet unsavory details and new charges surrounding his affair with a top staffer's wife, but he's not off the hook yet.

The Senate Ethics Committee issued a rare statement Friday signaling it would continue its investigation of Ensign's affair and steps he took to keep it quiet despite having formally resigned his Senate seat. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), the top Democrat and Republican on the panel respectively, said his resignation is "appropriate" and indicated they would wrap up work on the probe as soon as possible.

"The Senate Ethics Committee has worked diligently for nearly 22 months on this matter and will complete its work in a timely fashion," they said in the statement.

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Ethics

Ethics Showdown Brewing Over Suspended Attorneys

Susan Crabtree | March 8, 2011, 7:28PM

Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)

A showdown is brewing between House Republicans and Democrats on the Ethics Committee over whether to reinstate two attorneys accused of bungling the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) three months ago.

The two lawyers, Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign, were still on the House payroll as of Jan. 31, as TPM reported in late February, and committee rules require the panel to approve all the staffers at the beginning of each Congress. A source spotted Kim in the Capitol complex Tuesday, adding to the intrigue.

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John Ensign

Watchdogs to Ethics Panel: Keep Pursuing Ensign Hush Money Case

Susan Crabtree | March 8, 2011, 8:43AM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

Watchdogs are calling on the Senate Ethics Committee to continue digging into the hush money case against Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) despite his decision not to run for reelection.

The Ethics Committee last month announced the appointment a special prosecutor to lead the investigation into activities surrounding Ensign's affair with a political staffer because the panel was finding it too difficult to pursue the case. But ethics committees don't have jurisdiction over senators and members once they leave the House and Senate, and often the panels decide to drop their cases against lawmakers who announce their retirements and are heading out the door.

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Ethics

Mystery Surrounding House Ethics Committee Attorneys Continues

Susan Crabtree | March 1, 2011, 12:38PM

The House Ethics Committee attorneys accused of bungling the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) three months ago were still on the House payroll as of Jan. 31, as TPM reported late last week, and there are new questions about how they are managing to stick around.

House Ethics Committee rules clearly require the panel to approve all staffers at the beginning of each Congress.

"All staff members shall be appointed by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the Committee," the rules state.

The vote shall occur at the first Committee of each Congress, according to the rules, and "as necessary" during the Congress.

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John Ensign

Why Can't Congress Police Itself? Ensign Case is Exhibit A

Susan Crabtree | February 3, 2011, 8:30AM

The Senate Ethics Committee's decision to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation into activities surrounding Sen. John Ensign's (R-NV) affair with a political staffer is raising age-old questions about the panel's relevancy.

Members of Congress are the first to admit that they hate serving on the Ethics Committee, and policing their peers puts them in an unusually awkward position. If that's the case and the panel has to farm out its work to true professional investigators, then why have lawmakers investigating their colleagues misbehavior in the first place?

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Tom DeLay

House Ethics: Timing On Fundraisers, Financial Reform Was Coincidence

Ryan J. Reilly and Melissa Jeltsen | January 27, 2011, 4:15PM

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX)

The House Ethics Committee let three members of Congress skirt further ethics inquires on their cozy relationships with financial lobbyists because, in short, everybody does it.

But what about the timing of the fundraisers, some of which were held the day before the final Financial Reform Bill vote in December 2009? Top ethics officials in the House of Representatives say the timing of the events was just "happenstance."

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Ethics

Ethics Committee: Wall Street Fundraisers Weren't As Bad As DeLay

Ryan J. Reilly | January 26, 2011, 6:00PM

Reps. John Campbell (R-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Tom Price (R-GA)

Nothing to see here, folks!

That's the takeaway of the House Ethics Committee's 616-page report on fundraisers targeting financial industry lobbyists held by members of the House around the time the legislative body was voting on an overhaul of financial regulation in December of 2009.

Despite the recommendations of the more independent Office of Congressional Ethics, the House Ethics Committee wouldn't be looking into whether events geared towards financial lobbyists held by three members of Congress had the appearance of impropriety.

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David Rivera

Cantor Wouldn't Touch Ethics Questions On New Rep. Rivera

Ryan J. Reilly | January 7, 2011, 1:00PM

Rep. David Rivera (R-FL)

Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) tried this week to clear up questions about his finances amidst a reported investigation into $500,000 in payments by a dog track (whose cause Rivera supported) to a company owned by his mother and godmother.

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Kit Bond

Kit Bond Heads To K Street

Ryan J. Reilly | January 4, 2011, 12:39PM

Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO)

Outgoing Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO) is becoming a partner at Thompson Coburn LLP, where he'll advise clients on issues including international trade, biotechnology, agriculture, cyberlaw and transportation, the firm said in a statement.

Bond will also consult with clients to bring economic development and job opportunities to Missouri, and he'll work from both Missouri and Washington, D.C.

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David M. Rivera

FL GOPer Tries To Clear Up Slot Machine Ethics Questions

Ryan J. Reilly | January 4, 2011, 12:02PM

David Rivera (R)

Miami Republican David Rivera is attempting to clear up some questions about a $500,000 in secret payments he received from a campaign to expand slot machine gambling, the Associated Press reported.

Rivera filed amended state ethics forms and has already released his U.S. House of Representatives financial disclosure form for 2010, which wasn't due until May 15. Said the AP:

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Ethics

Ethics Committee Ends 'Per Diem' Investigation Into Six Members

Ryan J. Reilly | January 3, 2011, 9:15AM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

The House ethics committee has ended an investigation into six members of Congress over allegations that they kept the remainder of per diem payments they receive when traveling overseas.

Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) and Joe Wilson (R-SC) are now no longer under investigation in the case.

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Christine O'Donnell

O'Donnell: Fed Probe Ginned Up By Biden, Soros And Disgruntled Staffers (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 30, 2010, 10:17AM

Former Republican senate candidate Christine O'Donnell took to the airwaves of at least five morning shows today to fight back against the "thug politic tactic" being used against her by way of the federal criminal probe into allegations of improper use of her campaign funds.

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Jo Bonner

Boehner Puts Bonner In Charge Of House Ethics Committee

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 4:42PM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.), the ranking member of the House ethics committee who reportedly ordered the Capitol Police to block the doors of the committee's offices for a week during a dispute over the handling of the ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), will serve as chairman of the House ethics committee in the 112th Congress.

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Charles Rangel

Charlie Rangel Sets Up Legal Fund

Ryan J. Reilly | December 29, 2010, 10:22AM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is asking for donations of up to $5,000 to the Charles B. Rangel Legal Expense Trust to cover anticipated further legal costs stemming from allegations of ethics violations against him, Lynn Sweet reported.

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Ethics

With Ethics Committee In Turmoil, Waters Lawyer Says Case Should Be Dropped

Ryan J. Reilly | December 21, 2010, 8:10AM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL) last month ordered the Capitol Police to block the doors of the ethics committee offices for a week during a partisan dispute over the handling of the ethics case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Washington Post reported.

A Capitol Police officer guarded the door of the ethics committee offices during Thanksgiving week and about eight staffers were told not to come to work, sources told the Post last week. Reached by TPM, a spokesman in Bonner's office declined to comment. Lofgren's office referred all questions to the ethics committee, which has not offered comment.

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Blake Chisam

Report: House Ethics Committee Director Blake Chisam Leaving

Ryan J. Reilly | December 16, 2010, 8:50AM

Chief Counsel Blake Chisam

Blake Chisam, the staff director and chief counsel of the House ethics committee who was chosen by Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), will be departing the key position imminently, The Hill reported. Chisam tendered his resignation before the election, but his departure is fueling speculation that Lofgren wants to leave the committee as well, the newspaper reports.

Chisam oversaw the committee's case against Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and the delay of the trial of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).

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House Ethics Committee

Waters Won't Push For Vote On Ethics Committee Investigation

Rachel Slajda | December 9, 2010, 2:00PM

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) announced on the House floor today that she will not push for a vote on her proposal to create a bipartisan task force to investigate the House ethics committee.

"Upon the advice of my colleagues whom I trust and admire, I am not pushing for a vote on this resolution today," she said this afternoon, according to her prepared remarks. "In doing so, however, I am requesting that the Committee set the record straight, on its own accord, in a bipartisan manner, with a joint statement signed by the Chair and Ranking Member, ... [the] circumstances of the events that led to the discipline of the two attorneys leading the case against me."

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Maxine Waters

Waters Takes To Floor To Call For Investigation Of Ethics Lawyers (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 8, 2010, 11:25AM

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA).

Rep. Maxine Waters (R-CA) introduced legislation on the floor of the House last night that would require the Speaker to "appoint a bipartisan task force to investigate the circumstances and cause of the decision to place professional staff of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct on indefinite administrative leave."

Waters, who is under investigation for alleged ethics violations, wants to know why the ethics committee suspended two lawyers -- Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign -- who were working on her case.

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Leslie Johnson

Alleged Bra-Stuffer Sworn In As Councilwoman (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 7, 2010, 10:02AM

Leslie Johnson and Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson

Despite the federal indictment against her, Leslie Johnson was sworn into office on Monday in Prince George's County, Md. on a Bible held by her husband and alleged co-conspirator, Jack Johnson.

Leslie Johnson is accused of stuffing nearly $80,000 in cash in her bra and flushing a $100,000 check down the toilet as FBI agents knocked on the door in order to search her home as part of a corruption probe.

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Maxine Waters

Report: Ethics Committee Probing If Financial Committee Withheld Evidence

Ryan J. Reilly | December 3, 2010, 9:37AM

The House ethics committee is probing why the House Financial Services Committee failed to fully comply with its promise to turn over all documents related to an investigation of subcommittee chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the Washington Post reports.

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Charles Rangel

Charlie Rangel's Final Plea For Reprimand (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | December 2, 2010, 8:58PM

Ahead of the vote to censure Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) for ethics violations, the long-serving congressman made a final plea on the floor of the House of Representatives for his colleagues to lessen his punishment to a reprimand.

Rangel cited his record of military service as he admitted that he brought his problems upon himself. The New York Democrat was found guilty of 11 ethics violations by the House ethics panel, which then recommended Rangel be censured. The full House voted late Thursday to do so, and Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) read out that censure immediately after the vote.

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