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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Conservative Leadership Summit

Conservative Movement Leaders Discuss 2011 Agenda Behind Closed Doors

Ryan J. Reilly | November 11, 2010, 3:30PM

Another indicator of the changing of the guard in Washington came yesterday as dozens of representatives and leaders from conservative groups convened for a private meeting in the suburbs of Virginia. Representatives of a wide variety of Tea Party groups, mainstream conservative think tanks and right-wing media outlets came together to talk about the future of the conservative movement, TPMmuckraker has learned.

The agenda indicates that they attempted to hash out some of their priorities for the legislative agenda in the upcoming Congress, which will feature a GOP-controlled House for the first time in four years.

The hush-hush meeting was sponsored by the Conservative Action Project (CAP), an offshoot of the Council for National Policy.

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Tom DeLay

Timing Is Key In Investigations Of Donations From Financial Interests

Ryan J. Reilly | September 3, 2010, 9:40AM

Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY)

When news came out this week that three members of Congress had been referred to the House ethics committee for further investigation into possible ethics violations because of fundraisers they held ahead of a vote on financial reform, observers were surprised that the Office of Congressional Ethics based the decision on the appearance of impropriety rather than solid evidence that anything was done wrong.

But according to House ethics guidelines, looks do matter.

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Office of Congressional Ethics

Is Appearance Of Impropriety Now Enough To Open An Ethics Investigation?

Ryan J. Reilly | September 2, 2010, 1:51PM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

The Office of Congressional Ethics told the Ethics Committee that the conduct of three members of the House in the time leading up to the vote on the Financial Regulatory Reform warrants further investigation. But OCE also dismissed similar investigations against five other members. So what's the difference between a legal campaign contribution and a "legislation-for-contribution" scheme that violates the honest services law -- and does the OCE really believe that the three members they referred to the Committee violated it?

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Office of Congressional Ethics

OCE Recommends Three Congressmen For Further Ethics Probe

Rachel Slajda | September 1, 2010, 9:16AM

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)

The Office of Congressional Ethics, a semi-independent body that investigates House members on ethics charges and forwards its findings to the official House ethics committee, says the conduct of three members warrants further investigation.

The OCE has been investigating Reps. John Campbell (R-CA), Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Tom Price (R-GA) for fundraisers they held in the days before voting on financial reform legislation last December. The office dismissed similar investigations against five other members.

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James Sensenbrenner

To Get Around Ban On Financing Lawmaker Trips, Corporations Turn To Non-Profits

Zachary Roth | December 7, 2009, 10:22AM

Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI)

The New York Times sheds light on the hot new tactic for lawmakers who want to get around Congressional ethics rules that ban corporate-financed travel. Just use a non-profit group -- which aren't subject to the ban -- as a pass through for corporate money.

That's how it seems to have worked when Republican congressmen James Sensenbrenner and Tom Price traveled to Liechtenstein in February to learn about its banking system -- as well as to visit a ski resort and tour the Prince of Lichtenstein's wine cellar.

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Tom Coburn

Coburn, Price Not Rushing To Embrace Award From Doctor Who Sent Racist Obama Pic

Zachary Roth | October 19, 2009, 4:33PM

Dr. David McKalip

David McKalip, the Florida doctor and health-care-reform opponent who apologized this summer after sending a racist picture of President Obama as a witch-doctor, is trying to cozy up to some of the most extreme Republican reform foes in Congress. But even they want little to do with him, it seems.

Yesterday, McKalip sent an email invitation, obtained by TPMmuckraker, announcing that Doctors for Patient Freedom, the anti-reform group he runs, plans to honor Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) for their work in fighting to preserve "the freedom patients deserve" in health care. According to the invitation, the ceremony is set to take place November 7th, in conjunction with the upcoming American Medical Association meeting in Houston.

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