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Ethics Panel

Ethics

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


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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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Ethics, Ethics Panel, John Boehner, Mel Watt, Nancy Pelosi, Office of Congressional Ethics

Ethics Panel

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

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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Topics: Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Maxine Waters

Anthony Weiner

Pelosi Officially Asks For Weiner Ethics Investigation


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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Topics: Anthony Weiner, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Nancy Pelosi, Sexting

Anthony Weiner

Weiner Faces Mounting Legal And Ethics Questions Over Sexting Scandal


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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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Anthony Weiner, Ethics, Ethics Panel, John Edwards, Rielle Hunter, Sexting

Ethics

After Four-Month Impasse, House Ethics Taps Staff Director

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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Topics: Blake Chisam, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Maxine Waters, Zoe Lofgren

John Ensign

Ensign Still On The Ethics Hook After Resigning


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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Topics: Cynthia Hampton, Douglas Hampton, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, John Ensign, Office of Congressional Ethics, Senate Ethics Committee

Ethics

Ethics Showdown Brewing Over Suspended Attorneys


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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Topics: Blake Chisam, Cindy Morgan Kim, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Maxine Waters, Stacy Sovereign

John Ensign

Watchdogs to Ethics Panel: Keep Pursuing Ensign Hush Money Case


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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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), CREW, Cynthia Hampton, Douglas Hampton, Ethics, Ethics Panel, John Ensign, Senate Ethics Committee, Senators

Ethics

Mystery Surrounding House Ethics Committee Attorneys Continues

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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Topics: Blake Chisam, Democrats, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Linda Sanchez, Republicans

John Ensign

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

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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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Conflict Of Interest, Congress, Congressional Staffing, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Jo Bonner, John Ensign, Maxine Waters, Zoe Lofgren

Ethics

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


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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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Jo Bonner, Maxine Waters, Morgan Kim, Stacy Sovereign, Zoe Lofgren

Blake Chisam

Report: House Ethics Committee Director Blake Chisam Leaving


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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Topics: Blake Chisam, Charles Rangel, Charlie Rangel, Ethics, Ethics Panel, G.K. Butterfield, Maxine Waters, Zoe Lofgren

Maxine Waters

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


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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Topics: Cindy Morgan Kim, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Maxine Waters, Morgan Kim, Stacy Sovereign

Maxine Waters

Report: Ethics Committee Probing If Financial Committee Withheld Evidence

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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Topics: Barney Frank, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Maxine Waters

Charles Rangel

Charlie Rangel's Final Plea For Reprimand (VIDEO)

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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Topics: Charles Rangel, Charlie Rangel, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House of Representatives

Charlie Rangel

House Votes To Censure Charlie Rangel For Ethics Violations (VIDEO)


Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., speaking of the floor of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/House Television)

The House of Representatives voted 332 to 79 to censure Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) on Thursday for violations of the body's ethics laws.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) read the censure on the floor of the House immediately following the vote.

Today's vote brought an end to the investigation of the long serving New York Democrat, who was found to have violated 11 of the House ethics rules. The charges centered upon four issues: that Rangel used Congressional resources to raise money for an educational center bearing his name; that he failed to report taxable income on a rental villa in the Dominican Republic; the he filed inaccurate financial disclosure forms; and that he used a rent-controlled apartment in Harlem as a campaign office.

Several members from both parties spoke in support changing the punishment from censure to reprimand (For more on how these punishments have played out in the past, see here.)

And Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), a member of the ethics committee, proposed a motion to lessen the sanction from censure to reprimand that ultimately failed by a vote of 146-267. It had the support of 143 Democrats and three Republicans: Reps. Pete King (NY), Ron Paul (TX) and Don Young (AK).

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Topics: Charlie Rangel, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi

Maxine Waters

Report: House Ethics Lawyers Kept Probing Waters After Investigation Phase Ended


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Two former federal prosecutors who were suspended from the House ethics committee -- both of whom previously worked for Republican appointed judges -- reportedly kept probing allegations against Rep. Maxine Waters even after the subcommittee recommended the California Democrat be tried for ethics violations.

Cindy Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign apparently ruffled feathers by continuing to investigate Waters after the investigative subcommittee made its recommendations in August, several Republican sources on Capitol Hill told the Washington Post.

"They were pushing too hard" to broaden the investigation, one Republican staff aide told the newspaper. Kim and Sovereign circulated a memo supporting the postponement of the trial and imploring the committee to investigate further, the source said.

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Topics: Blake Chisam, DOJ Office Of The Inspector General, DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Justice Department, Maxine Waters, Morgan Kim, Stacy Sovereign

Maxine Waters

Waters Has Plenty Of Questions On Suspension Of Ethics Lawyers


Rep. Maxine Waters

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) doesn't know why two of the ethics committee lawyers who had been working on the ethics case against her were placed on administrative leave. But she does know that something "has gone wrong in the ethics process." And she's got plenty of questions.

Waters said in a statement late Wednesday that the House ethics committee has yet to inform her directly that two of the lawyers working on the ethics case against her had been suspended. She said the "integrity of the Committee and its investigative process have been compromised" and called on the panel to clarify why the disciplinary action had been taken.

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Topics: Cindy Morgan Kim, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Maxine Waters, Morgan Kim, Stacy Sovereign

Maxine Waters

Two House Ethics Lawyers Involved With Waters Case Suspended


Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Two lawyers from the House ethics committee, including the chief prosecutor working on the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), were suspended last month on the same day the panel announced an indefinite delay in Waters' public trial.

Cindy Morgan Kim and Stacy Sovereign were placed on administrative leave on Nov. 19 -- the same day that the panel announced an indefinite delay of Waters trial. The suspensions were first reported by Politico.

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Topics: Blake Chisam, Cindy Morgan Kim, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Maxine Waters, Stacy Sovereign

Charlie Rangel

House Moves One Step Closer To Censuring Charlie Rangel


Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

The House of Representatives moved one step closer toward censuring Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) over the 11 ethics violations he was found guilty of earlier this month.

House Resolution 1737, filed late Monday evening by Committee on Standards of Official Conduct Chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), calls for "Representative Charles B. Rangel forthwith present himself in the well of the House for the pronouncement of censure." The short resolution would be read by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

A vote on the motion could come at anytime. The censure is likely to take place in the coming days, probably without much warning (a courtesy to the member so as to limit media coverage).

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Topics: Charlie Rangel, Ethics, Ethics Panel

Ethics

Ethics Panel Says House Should Censure Charlie Rangel

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) should be censured by the House of Representatives and pay back taxes for financial and fundraising misconduct, the House ethics committee recommended late Thursday.

The House of Representatives will likely consider the motion to censure the 20-term congressman after Thanksgiving, the Associated Press reported.

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Topics: Charles Rangel, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Nancy Pelosi

Charlie Rangel

NY Democrat Eliot Engel: Rangel Can't 'Excuse Away' Ethics Decision (VIDEO)


Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) told reporters on Tuesday that the decision by the ethics committee that Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) was guilty on 11 ethics counts was "sad" for a man he called a longtime friend.

"This is what happens sometimes in life," Engel said. "I'm sorry to see this happen."

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Topics: Charlie Rangel, Eliot Engel, Ethics Panel

Charlie Rangel

Charlie Rangel: I Can't Say Anything, Well, Except... (VIDEO)


Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY)

In an impromptu moving news conference after he walked out of his ethics hearing on Monday, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) told reporters he didn't think there was much he could say about the charges against him.

"I wish I could make a statement... I don't think there's anything that I can say," Rangel said in front of a row of cameras set up just outside the 3rd floor hearing room in the House Longworth Building.

Then he said a lot.

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Topics: Charlie Rangel, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, New York, Office of Congressional Ethics

Charles Rangel

Rangel Faces Tough Fight In Ethics Committee Trial


Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

In the coming days, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) has a choice to make. He can listen to his Democratic colleagues and cut a deal, or he can face a full trial before a House panel over several allegations of misconduct.

It's extremely rare for congressional ethics proceedings to reach this stage. Members more commonly acknowledge some wrongdoing, or resign, well before they're forced to defend themselves before an official body. But the gravity of the Rangel allegations, combined with his intransigence to this point, leave him poised, potentially, to be the first House member to be tried, and even expelled, by his own colleagues since James Traficant, in 2002.

"We're kind of astonished it's gone this far," says Peter Flaherty, President of the National Legal and Policy Center, whose work led to one investigation of Rangel and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus. "We always believed the allegations against Rangel were serious, but we never thought the Ethics Committee would do anything."

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Topics: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Charles Rangel, Corruption, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, House of Representatives , Lanny Davis

C Street

Ethics Office Clears C Street House In Rent Probe


C Street House

The Office of Congressional Ethics has sent letters to several residents of the C Street Christian fellowship house informing them that there is no "probable cause" to believe legislators are getting improper gifts in the form of below-market rent, Roll Call reports.

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Topics: C Street, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Office of Congressional Ethics

PMA Group

Ethics Office Refers Earmarks-For-Contributions Evidence To DOJ


Reps. Peter Visclosky (D-IN) and John Murtha (D-PA)

The PMA investigation may have some life left in it yet.

Even after a House ethics committee investigation of allegations of an earmarks-for-campaign contributions scheme by the now-defunct lobby shop PMA Group found no wrongdoing back in February, the independent Office of Congressional Ethics this morning announced it is referring evidence gathered in its probe of PMA to the Justice Department.

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Topics: Ethics, Ethics Panel, John Murtha, Office of Congressional Ethics, PMA, PMA Group, Pete Visclosky

Ethics

New House Ethics Paradigm: Leadership Must Rat Out Members


Former Rep. Mark Foley, Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), and former Rep. Eric Massa

After learning that Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) had an affair with a staffer, two House Republican leaders felt compelled to inform the ethics committee of the matter. Why?

Taking that step appears to be part of a new M.O. when leadership hears about an allegation of misconduct: tell the ethics committee quickly to inoculate yourself and your party against accusations of inaction later on.

"That's the new standard: the leadership ratting out its members where there's an allegation of misconduct," Stan Brand, a former House general counsel, tells TPMmuckraker.

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Topics: Dennis Hastert, Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, John Boehner, Mark Foley, Mark Souder, Steny Hoyer

Mark Souder

Pence: I Notified Ethics Committee After Learning Of Souder Affair


Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) and Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN)

Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), the No. 3 Republican in the House and an Indiana colleague of Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), informed the ethics committee that Souder was having an affair with a staffer after Souder informed him of the matter on Sunday, a Pence spokesman said today.

It's not clear why Pence went to the ethics committee about the affair.

Pence first heard about the Souder affair after a journalist approached him last Wednesday, he said at a press conference earlier today. Pence says he approached Souder on the House floor about the matter, and Souder told him about the affair.

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Topics: Ethics, Ethics Panel, John Boehner, Mark Souder, Mike Pence, Sex

Eric Massa

WaPo: Massa Tried To Pick Up Bartender At Wake For Slain Soldier


Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

In the end, it wasn't a tickle fight that led staffers for former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) to take their concerns about the congressman's conduct to House leadership. Rather, it was an incident in which Massa tried to pick up a young bartender at the wake of a 19-year-old Marine who was killed in Afghanistan, according to an epic Washington Post investigation.

The story of Massa and the allegations of sexual misconduct against male staffers has largely gone away since he resigned from Congress just over a month ago.

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Sex, Washington Post

Nathan Deal

Ethics Office Releases Report On Fmr. GOP Rep's Auto Business


Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA)

In an unusual move, the independent House ethics office has released a report on former Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA), whose sweetheart business arrangement with the state of Georgia has drawn media scrutiny.

Deal, who is running for governor, resigned from Congress late on the night of March 21, after casting a vote against the health care legislation.

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Topics: Ethics, Ethics Panel, Nathan Deal, Office of Congressional Ethics

Eric Massa

Pelosi: Earlier Massa Conversation Didn't 'Come Close To Any Kind Of An Allegation' (VIDEO)


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Interviewed by Rachel Maddow last night, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that what her staff was told last year about then-Rep. Eric Massa did not "even come close to any kind of an allegation."

She said the conversation, reportedly between Massa's chief of staff and a Pelosi staffer, "repeated something that had been in the newspaper the day before."

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Nancy Pelosi

House Ethics Committee

Reports Conflict On Whether Massa Ethics Probe Remains Open


Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

Is it or isn't it?

Media reports based on anonymous sources are now in conflict about whether the ethics committee is still investigating allegations involving former Rep. Eric Massa.

The ethics committee, perhaps the most opaque institution in Congress, has been mum on the question. So let's review what's been reported.

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee

Eric Massa

Boehner Asks For Probe Of Massa Case


House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

The Daily Caller reports that House Minority Leader John Boehner will offer a resolution that calls for an investigation of Democratic leaders' handling of the case of former Rep. Eric Massa.

The Caller suggests that Republicans want the ethics committee to look at how Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- whose staff was reportedly told in October that Massa lived with staffers and used sexually explicit language -- handled the Massa case.

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi

Eric Massa

Report: House Ethics Panel Drops Massa Probe


Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

The House ethics committee has decided to end its investigation of former Rep. Eric Massa, which was launched less than a week ago, the Washington Post is reporting.

Massa reportedly has been accused of groping multiple staffers.

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee

Eric Massa

Hoyer Vs. Massa: All A Misunderstanding?


House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and former Rep. Eric Massa

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters earlier today that he never talked to former Rep. Eric Massa about any ethics allegation, after Massa accused Hoyer of lying about the matter.

"My staff talked to his staff," Hoyer said today.

But it appears that the back-and-forth between the two arose after Massa read an Associated Press article that incorrectly reported Hoyer's original statement on the issue.

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, House Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer

Eric Massa

WaPo: Massa Allegedly Groped Multiple Staffers


Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

The Washington Post cites three anonymous sources who say that former Rep. Eric Massa has been under investigation for allegedly groping multiple male staffers over a period of "at least a year."

And Politico is reporting that Massa also allegedly "conducted himself improperly with interns."

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Navy, New York

Eric Massa

Massa's 'Fracking You' Tale: The Whole Story?


Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

On his radio show yesterday, Rep. Eric Massa said he believes his remark to a staffer at a wedding party that "what I really ought to be doing is fracking you" was the incident that led to ethics allegations against him.

But the ethics committee -- whose investigation will end when Massa resigns later today -- has not commented on the nature of the allegations it is probing. And an unnamed Massa aide told Politico the congressman "has been engaged in inappropriate behavior 'for eight months.'"

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, Jared Smith

Eric Massa

Massa To Aide: 'What I Really Ought To Be Doing Is Fracking You' (AUDIO)


Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), who is resigning later today, said on his radio show Sunday that he made an "inappropriate" sexual remark to a male aide at a New Year's Eve wedding party.

It's the first time Massa has given a detailed account of the events that he says led to the allegation of sexual harassment against him. Politico has reported that the married Massa "made unwanted advances toward a junior male staffer."

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee

Eric Massa

Ethics Committee Says It's Investigating Massa Allegations


Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

The House ethics committee announced today it is investigating "allegations" about Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) but does not detail the charges. According to Politico, Massa has been accused of making unwanted advances toward a male staffer.

You can read the one-sentence ethics announcement here.

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Topics: Eric Massa, Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee

Nathan Deal

Did GOP Rep Resign To Squelch Ethics Probe?


Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA)

Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA), who is under investigation by the ethics committee for reportedly intervening with Georgia officials to preserve a lucrative business agreement with the state, announced today he is leaving Congress, effective next Monday.

Why did he do it?

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Topics: Ethics, Ethics Panel, House Ethics Committee, Nathan Deal, Office of Congressional Ethics, Recovery Services Inc.