Archive: Ethics and Rules
Hoyer Testifies on 'Stolen Vote'
In an apparently unprecedented session, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) testified this afternoon before the special committee that was set up to investigate whether Democrats "stole" a controversial House vote last August. The vote in question was on a Republican motion to bar illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded benefits....
By Ben Pershing | May 13, 2008; 09:25 PM ET | Comments (8)
Fossella and Fay's European Vacation
The latest New York Post report on the saga of embattled Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.) caught Capitol Briefing's eye this morning. Fossella, of course, is on resignation/retirement watch after being charged with drunken driving and admitting that he has a three-year-old daughter with Laura Fay, a retired Air Force colonel...
By Ben Pershing | May 13, 2008; 12:15 PM ET | Comments (1)
Player of the Week: Vito Fossella
The scandal-plagued members of the 110th Congress have been something of a motley crew. They've come from north, south, east and west, the House and Senate, red states and blue. They've -- allegedly, of course -- inserted shady earmarks into bills, shaken down land developers, engaged in "very serious sin"...
By Ben Pershing | May 9, 2008; 04:06 PM ET | Comments (9)
Senate Ethics Dismisses Vitter Complaint
The Senate Ethics Committee informed Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) today that it was dismissing a complaint against him for his alleged patronage of a call-girl service that emerged from the so-called "D.C. Madam" scandal. The letter explained that the panel was dismissing the matter because "the conduct at issue occurred...
By Ben Pershing | May 8, 2008; 05:00 PM ET | Comments (3)
Is Rep. Gary Miller Next to Come Under Scrutiny?
Today's Post reports that "a disgruntled former employee," Laura Flores, has accused Reps. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) of forcing staff to do personal and campaign business for them on official time. Flores, who has pleaded guilty to fraud charges for embezzling money from her employers, is reportedly...
By Ben Pershing | May 8, 2008; 12:20 PM ET | Comments (1)
Another Victim in GOP Embezzlement Scandal
Add retiring Rep. James Walsh (N.Y.) to the list of Republican lawmakers who now believe they were ripped off by Christopher Ward, the former treasurer of multiple GOP campaigns who is under federal investigation for allegedly embezzling funds from the National Republican Congressional Committee. On April 14, Walsh's political action...
By Ben Pershing | April 23, 2008; 02:24 PM ET | Comments (2)
Player of the Week: Don Young
In his 35 years as Alaska's sole House member, Don Young (R) has never been shy about talking back to his critics -- and he's had quite a few. When he was asked in 2005 about calls to redirect money for Alaska bridge projects to Hurricane Katrina victims, Young said,...
By Ben Pershing | April 18, 2008; 02:40 PM ET | Comments (2)
A Dubious Milestone for Rep. Young
Embattled Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) has now spent more than $1.1 million on legal fees since the start of 2007, after shelling out $253,000 to four different sets of lawyers in the first quarter of this year, according to his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission. Young is...
By Ben Pershing | April 16, 2008; 12:21 PM ET | Comments (1)
Mr. Thomas Has the Floor?
Last Thursday morning, just a few hours before the House approved a key procedural move on the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, ex-Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) strolled onto the chamber floor to chat with his former colleagues. By his own account, Thomas was on Capitol Hill on other business and just...
By Ben Pershing | April 15, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (2)
Abramoff Story Lives On
Just when it seemed that Washington had moved on to more recent scandals like the D.C. Madam trial or the indictment of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), an old chestnut -- the Jack Abramoff scandal -- has come back to life. The tale of the disgraced lobbyist and his congressional partners...
By Ben Pershing | April 14, 2008; 04:06 PM ET | Comments (8)
Two Faces of Earmarks
With the annual appropriations season slowly coming to life on the Hill, members of Congress are once again confronting more news stories about what has become a hot-button issue -- earmarks. Wading through all the press releases in his inbox this morning, Capitol Briefing was struck by the starkly different...
By Ben Pershing | April 7, 2008; 04:49 PM ET | Comments (13)
On Death and Campaign Cash
Dealing with the estate of someone who dies without a will or clear wishes can be difficult for the survivors. Who gets the house? The car? The family heirlooms? And when members of Congress pass away, there's an additional question to answer: What happens to their campaign cash? Under current...
By Ben Pershing | April 2, 2008; 01:18 PM ET | Comments (2)
McDermott Owes Boehner $1 Million for Legal Fees
A U.S. District Court judge ruled Monday that Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) owes House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) more than $1 million in legal fees in their decade-long fight over an illegally taped cell phone call McDermott leaked to the media. Boehner sued McDermott in 1998 after the Washington...
By Ben Pershing | April 1, 2008; 01:05 PM ET | Comments (15)
Indictment: Hussein Funded Lawmakers' Trip
Federal prosecutors on Wednesday accused a Michigan nonprofit executive of funnelling money from Saddam Hussein to pay for a 2002 trip to Iraq by three House Democratic lawmakers, according to the Associated Press. The AP says the dates of the 2002 Iraq trip correspond to those of an infamous visit...
By Ben Pershing | March 26, 2008; 06:45 PM ET | Comments (49)
About That New Ethics Office...
Capitol Briefing's alma mater, Roll Call, had a good story Monday (subscription req'd) about some questionable behavior by a House aide that would make fine fodder for the newly formed Office of Congressional Ethics' first investigation. The story reported that Jerry Hurckes -- Rep. Daniel Lipinski's (D-Ill.) top district aide...
By Ben Pershing | March 25, 2008; 05:26 PM ET | Comments (4)
Player of the Week: Michael Conaway
When Michael Conaway was elected to Congress from Texas in 2004, he figured he could use his background as a certified public accountant to advance the Republican cause on big-picture policy issues like the federal budget and the national debt. Little did he know then that he might end up...
By Ben Pershing | March 14, 2008; 05:00 PM ET | Comments (5)
NRCC Scandal: How Did It Happen?
Greg Walden had a problem. The Oregon Republican lawmaker was serving as the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee's audit committee, and he had been badgering the NRCC's treasurer, Christopher Ward, to set up a meeting with the committee's accounting firm. "I sought for several years to meet with...
By Ben Pershing | March 14, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (22)
NRCC Suspects 'Several Hundred Thousand Dollars' Stolen
National Republican Congressional Committee officials acknowledged publicly today that they have found discrepancies in their books of more than a million dollars and evidence that the NRCC's former treasurer, Christopher Ward, made "several hundred thousand dollars" worth of unauthorized wire transfers out of the committee that appear to have ended...
By Ben Pershing | March 13, 2008; 04:00 PM ET | Comments (40)
House Defeats First Ethics Vote Protest
The House just beat back the first formal protest against last night's controversial votes to create a new Office of Congressional Ethics. The chamber voted along party lines, 215-193, to table a Republican resolution calling for yesterday's votes to be scuttled and for at least two full-scale investigations of the...
By Ben Pershing | March 12, 2008; 11:42 AM ET | Comments (4)
House Passes Ethics Bill Amid Squabbling
After several halting attempts in recent weeks, House Democratic leaders were finally able to get an ethics reform bill through the chamber tonight, passing the measure by a misleadingly wide margin, 229-182. In the end, 196 Democrats and 33 Republicans voted in favor of the measure, while 159 Republicans and...
By Ben Pershing | March 11, 2008; 11:56 PM ET | Comments (5)
Ethics Panel Staff: Reform Bill 'a Bad Idea'
With the House theoretically set to vote later today on an ethics reform proposal, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct's top Republican, Rep. Doc Hastings (Wash.), has informed his fellow members that the panel's staff has "serious concerns" about the bill. The reform bill would create a new Office...
By Ben Pershing | March 11, 2008; 05:11 PM ET | Comments (2)
Spitzer Mulls Resignation While Craig Fights On
While the political world is riveted by the Eliot Spitzer drama and the question of whether he will resign his governorship, similarly scandal-tarred Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho.) is still in Congress, still doing his work and still fighting to overturn his guilty plea. Craig's attorneys filed papers today with the...
By Ben Pershing | March 11, 2008; 04:52 PM ET | Comments (23)
On the Hill, Stunned Silence on Spitzer
New York's congressional delegation is usually on the talkative side, but lawmakers from the Empire State appear to have been stunned into silence by the bombshell news that their governor, Eliot Spitzer (D), has been linked to a prostitution ring. At least a dozen New York members either didn't return...
By Ben Pershing | March 10, 2008; 06:48 PM ET | Comments (26)
Democrats Struggle With Ethics Bill
Democratic leaders in the House are still struggling to find support within their party for an ethics bill they promised to pass when they took over Congress. Just hours after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said yesterday morning that a bill to reform the ethics process would be on...
By Ben Pershing | March 6, 2008; 01:17 PM ET | Comments (7)
Renzi Pleads Not Guilty
Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi (R) pleaded not guilty today to a host of federal charges related to a federal land-swap deal and his alleged embezzlement of money from his own company to fund his first House campaign. Renzi appeared at U.S. District Court in Tuscon to make his plea, two...
By Ben Pershing | March 4, 2008; 05:00 PM ET | Email a Comment
House Ethics Bill Inching Back to Life
Five days after House Democrats were forced to pull a proposed ethics reform bill from consideration in the face of stiff opposition, party leaders are busy tinkering with the plan in hopes of bringing it back to life. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), who chaired a bipartisan task force on ethics...
By Ben Pershing | March 3, 2008; 04:30 PM ET | Comments (3)
George Miller's (Un)official Web Site
It's no secret that Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) is backing Barack Obama's campaign for president. The veteran chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee and a top lieutenant of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Miller endorsed the Illinois Democrat last month and worked (unsuccessfully) to try to help him win California...
By Ben Pershing | February 29, 2008; 03:30 PM ET | Comments (1)
Ethics Panel Launches Renzi Probe
The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct voted today to form an investigative subcommittee to probe whether indicted Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) has violated the chamber's Code of Official Conduct. Renzi was charged last week by a federal grand jury with 35 counts of money laundering, extortion and other...
By Ben Pershing | February 28, 2008; 04:40 PM ET | Comments (5)
Democrats Keep Pushing on Ethics
When House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced he was pulling the Democrats' ethics bill from consideration Wednesday after complaints erupted about it from both parties, he suggested that the next step would be for the two parties to get together to discuss the proposal and how to proceed. Republicans...
By Ben Pershing | February 28, 2008; 02:35 PM ET | Comments (3)
Parties Plot on Ethics Reform
Meetings on ethics reform are breaking out all over the Capitol this afternoon, as House Democrats try to convince their members to vote for the creation of a new office to screen complaints and Republicans prepare to unveil a counterproposal that would radically change House rules and the entire ethics...
By Ben Pershing | February 27, 2008; 03:12 PM ET | Email a Comment
Renzi Move a Mixed Blessing for GOP
Indicted Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) yesterday announced his decision about his future in the House: He's staying -- for now, anyway. And while Republican leaders may not be outwardly pleased with that choice, it could actually help them as much as it hurts. Renzi was charged last week by a...
By Ben Pershing | February 26, 2008; 08:29 AM ET | Comments (26)
Renzi Vows to Stay in House
Arizona Rep. Rick Renzi (R) said late Monday that he would not resign from the House, despite being indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Tucson on 35 counts of money laundering, wire fraud, extortion and other charges related to a land-swap scheme and his alleged embezzlement of...
By Ben Pershing | February 25, 2008; 07:08 PM ET | Comments (22)
House Members Regain Flexibility to Fly Home
House members are once again cleared for takeoff, as the chamber's ethics committee quietly announced last week that lawmakers could make reservations on multiple flights to and from their districts without violating ethics rules. The life of a member of Congress isn't always easy. Most lawmakers fly home to their...
By Ben Pershing | February 25, 2008; 11:08 AM ET | Comments (3)
Rep. Renzi Indicted
Rep. Rick Renzi (R) was indicted today on multiple charges by a federal grand jury looking into a controversial land deal in his home state of Arizona. Here is a copy of the indictment. Will the indicted congressman resign? (AP File Photo) Under heavy pressure from House GOP leaders, Renzi...
By Ben Pershing | February 22, 2008; 04:05 PM ET | Comments (73)
Rep. Jefferson's Trial Delayed
Spectators hoping to snag a seat at next week's trial of Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson (D) on bribery charges are going to have to wait a little longer, as the proceedings have now been delayed following a new appeal from the defense. Jury selection for the trial had been scheduled...
By Ben Pershing | February 21, 2008; 03:02 PM ET | Comments (4)
GOP's Earmarks Crusade Has its Limits
Anti-earmark crusader Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) lost his bid for a seat on the House Appropriations Committee Thursday, and the conservative blogosphere is not happy about it. This Red State post was typical of the reaction. Under the heading, "House Republicans Aren't Serious About Earmark Reform," blogger Bluey wrote, "Just when...
By Ben Pershing | February 15, 2008; 10:55 AM ET | Comments (25)
House Mulls Contempt Votes Against Bolten, Miers
After months of delay, House leaders are considering bringing contempt citations against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and ex-White House counsel Harriet Miers to the chamber floor for votes Thursday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said this morning that it was "possible" the citations would be on...
By Ben Pershing | February 13, 2008; 12:48 PM ET | Comments (4)
As the Earmarks Turn
Two weeks ago, House Republicans emerged from their annual retreat with a call for Democrats to agree to a temporary earmark moratorium and the formation of a bipartisan committee to recommend changes to the earmarking process. Democrats never gave much of a response -- other than to defend their own...
By Ben Pershing | February 7, 2008; 02:20 PM ET | Comments (1)
Convention Party Do's and Don'ts
Attention, party planners in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Denver. The Senate Ethics Committee today released its latest guidance on what kinds of events can and can't be held at the Republican and Democratic national conventions this summer, and the advice is ever-so-slightly different from that offered by the House ethics panel...
By Ben Pershing | February 4, 2008; 04:58 PM ET | Comments (1)
Senate Ethics Panel in Midst of Five Investigations
WILLIAMSBURG, Va -- While Capitol Briefing has been down here covering the House Democrats' annual retreat, the Senate Ethics Committee up at the Capitol has been putting in quite a bit of work, at least according to a new report. As part of last year's ethics and lobbying reforms, the...
By Ben Pershing | January 31, 2008; 07:52 PM ET | Comments (5)
A Note From Our (Lobbyist) Sponsors
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- After a brief welcome speech that reporters were allowed to watch, President Bush fielded questions behind closed doors from House Republicans. You'll get an update a bit later on Bush's speech and members' reaction to it. But first, a note on this retreat's sponsor. As...
By Ben Pershing | January 25, 2008; 03:00 PM ET | Comments (6)
Rep. Jefferson: 'Victim'
It turns out we've got embattled Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) all wrong. He is not the mastermind of an alleged bribery scheme. He's a victim. On Thursday, Jefferson testified in U. S. District Court in Alexandria that he felt bullied by FBI agents who came to search his home back...
By Ben Pershing | January 18, 2008; 12:05 PM ET | Comments (9)
After Siljander's Indictment, Is His Old District Jinxed?
Maybe there's something cursed about the House seat in Michigan's Sixth congressional district. How else to explain the fact that the previous two Republicans to hold that southwestern Michigan seat are both facing felony charges? It was a shocker when David A. Stockman, the one-time congressman from the Sixth (...
By Ben Pershing | January 16, 2008; 06:43 PM ET | Comments (20)
Doolittle Expected to Announce Retirement, Endorse Oller
Embattled California Rep. John Doolittle (R) is expected to announce at a news conference today in his district that he will not run for re-election and will endorse former state senator Rico Oller (R) as his successor, according to a knowledgeable California GOP source. Doolittle's decision -- scheduled to be...
By Ben Pershing | January 10, 2008; 11:15 AM ET | Comments (393)
Larry Craig Makes Second Attempt to Withdraw Guilty Plea
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) asked the Minnesota state Court of Appeals on Tuesday to reverse a lower court's decision preventing him from withdrawing his guilty plea following a sex sting last June at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Capitol Briefing readers -- and much of the known world -- will remember...
By Ben Pershing | January 8, 2008; 07:31 PM ET | Comments (12)
Senate Ethics Approves Multiple Airline Tickets
The Senate Ethics Committee has officially ruled that senators can book multiple flights for the same trip and just use one ticket without breaking the chamber's new zero-tolerance gift ban. As Capitol Briefing has previously reported, an airline industry legal opinion last month created havoc among Senate staff whose job...
By Paul Kane | October 29, 2007; 04:15 PM ET | Comments (7)
Alaska Democrats Try to 'Retire' Ted Stevens
Alaska Democrats have turned up the volume in their attacks on the leading Republicans in their state, showing their intention to wage aggressive campaigns next fall against Sen. Ted Stevens (R) and Rep. Don Young (R). Today the Alaska Democratic Party unveiled a new Web site, www.retireted.com, that chronicles the...
By Paul Kane | October 23, 2007; 12:28 PM ET | Comments (8)
Jefferson, Doolittle Face Major Cash Crunch
The two House members facing the most difficult legal challenges have almost hit political bankruptcy, with neither lawmaker raising much money last quarter and both sitting on large debts. Reps. William Jefferson (D-La.), indicted last spring on dozens of counts of corruption and influence peddling, and John Doolittle (D-Calif.), facing...
By Paul Kane | October 17, 2007; 11:16 AM ET | Comments (7)
UPDATE: Craig Says He Won't Resign After Adverse Ruling on His Guilty Plea
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) has changed his mind about resigning and will remain in the Senate through next year. His decision comes on the same day a Minnesota judge ruled Craig could not withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct in a men's restroom at a Minnesota airport [Read our...
By Paul Kane | October 4, 2007; 04:30 PM ET | Comments (116)
Larry Craig: The 'Crime' Scene
For those of you that can't get enough of the Larry Craig scandal, Capitol Briefing delivers today. You want to know what the Twin Cities airport looks like, the location of Craig's arrival gate and the location of the restroom? We've got the video. You want to see the stalls...
By Paul Kane | October 3, 2007; 03:03 PM ET | Comments (54)
Ted Stevens' Son on Investigation: "We're Big Fish"
Ben Stevens, the son of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) created one of the stranger twists in a smoldering Alaska public corruption investigation, Friday, calling into a local radio show to accuse federal prosecutors of a "public stoning" of the Stevens family. The younger Stevens, a former state senator who...
By Paul Kane | October 1, 2007; 06:15 PM ET | Comments (11)
Local Officials Again Reject Alaskans' Earmarks
It was a long, hot summer for Alaska's two senior members of Congress -- Sen. Ted Stevens (R) and Rep. Don Young (R -- as both came under scrutiny in a burgeoning corruption investigation in their home state. And now even their earmarking power is losing some of its pop....
By Paul Kane | September 28, 2007; 06:10 PM ET | Comments (7)
Craig: 'I Will Continue My Work'
EDINA, Minn. -- Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) just made it official that he will remain in the Senate, presumably until Judge Charles A. Porter issues a ruling here on the Idaho Republican's effort to withdraw his guilty plea to disorderly conduct in an airport men's restroom. Here's Craig's statement from...
By Paul Kane | September 26, 2007; 05:52 PM ET | Comments (14)
Judge in Craig Case 'Doesn't Suffer Fools'
EDINA, Minn. -- The star of today's legal proceedings is not Sen. Larry Craig, the Idaho Republican who's trying desperately to rescue his political career. Instead, it's Judge Charles Porter, who effectively holds Craig's legal and political fate in his hands. While the two figures could not find themselves in...
By Paul Kane | September 26, 2007; 12:55 PM ET | Comments (31)
GOP Leaders Hesitant to Endorse Doolittle
With fresh subpoenas landing in the office of Rep. John T. Doolittle, a pair of leading House Republicans declined to say yesterday whether they would endorse the veteran California Republican for re-election. Doolittle was already forced off his key assignment on the Appropriations Committee in April after the FBI raided...
By Paul Kane | September 4, 2007; 08:32 PM ET | Comments (9)
Document Shows Widening Probe Into DOJ Hiring
In Friday's Washington Post Dan Eggen and I examine two expanding fronts of the Justice Department's internal investigation into Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and his top subordinates. Justice's Inspector General and its Office of Professional Responsibility acknowledged they are examining Gonzales's recent congressional testimony for potential lies or false...
By Paul Kane | August 30, 2007; 09:54 PM ET | Comments (49)
Ethics Vote Could Signal GOP Tensions
For the second time in five weeks, Senate Republican leaders split votes on critical legislation, possibly signaling leadership tensions as Democrats head into an August recess with several legislative victories under their belt. On today's overwhelming vote approving an ethics and lobbying reform plan, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and...
By Paul Kane | August 2, 2007; 04:30 PM ET | Comments (5)
New Ethics Panel 'Not Even Close'
Even as they pass a set of broad lobbying reforms, House Democrats have run into a wall with their consideration of a new internal commission to handle ethics complaints, particularly from outside watchdog groups. Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.), who is heading a task force studying the idea of a...
By Paul Kane | August 1, 2007; 01:40 PM ET | Comments (5)
Guest Post: Following Stevens PAC Money
Ethics has been the topic du jour on Capitol Hill today, with the House passing its lobbying reform measure by a landslide 411-8 vote. And the fallout continues after yesterday's FBI raid of Sen. Ted Steven's (R-Alaska) Anchorage home. Stevens and other Alaska politicians are being investigated in connection with...
By Paul Kane | July 31, 2007; 04:15 PM ET | Comments (20)
Stevens Raid May Boost Ethics Reform
Supporters of an ethics and lobbying reform package hitting the House floor today received one more symbolic shot in the arm yesterday when federal agents raided the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in chamber history, as part of a broadening corruption investigation in the Frontier...
By Paul Kane | July 31, 2007; 12:15 PM ET | Comments (10)
Members of Congress Shell Out $1 Million in Legal Fees
A pair of senators facing corruption probes shelled out more than $130,000 combined on legal bills in the 2nd quarter of 2007, bringing the total amount of ethics-related tabs to at least $1.1 million in the House and Senate from April through June. In addition, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) dished...
By Paul Kane | July 20, 2007; 11:36 AM ET | Comments (3)
Another Justice Official Steps Down
Last one out of Justice Department HQ, please turn out the lights. OK, so it's not that bad. But, this afternoon, another top Justice Department official resigned his position in the wake of the U.S. attorney firing scandal. William W. Mercer, who for the past 10 months has been acting...
By Paul Kane | June 22, 2007; 05:34 PM ET | Comments (15)
Democrats Look to Anchorage Mayor
With a trio of stories today involving ethical allegations against Alaska Republicans, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich's phone started ringing early with calls from Capitol Hill. Begich, a popular mayor who won his second three-year term a year ago, is being courted to challenge one or the other of Alaska's longtime...
By Paul Kane | June 7, 2007; 03:08 PM ET | Comments (8)
A Brewing Battle Over House Committee Assignments
Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives are involved in an increasingly bitter skirmish over one of the most routine congressional acts -- approving committee assignments. Yesterday, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that senior Republicans had approved Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) to take a seat on the...
By Paul Kane | May 10, 2007; 08:15 AM ET | Comments (5)
Ethics Switch Signals Long Domenici Probe
The Senate Ethics Committee sent its strongest signal yet that it is digging in for a long and serious examination of Sen. Pete Domenici's (R-N.M.) role in the firing of a U.S. attorney. Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) recused himself last night from the investigation into the dismissal of David C....
By Paul Kane | April 18, 2007; 02:04 PM ET | Comments (8)
Corporate Jet Ban and 2008: Spreading the Pain?
Democrats are quietly planning to insert language into their ethics reform plan that would forbid anyone who is seeking federal office from accepting discount rides on corporate jets, a move that would put all 2008 candidates for the White House on the same playing field. Will Sen. Dianne Feinstein make...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | January 22, 2007; 04:00 AM ET | Comments (4)
