Republicans Go to Jail Too. They Need an Ethics Office.

Source: The Resurgent | January 3, 2017 | Erick Erickson

Led by Congressman Bob Goodlatte, House Republicans want to scuttle the Office of Congressional Ethics. It seems they don’t like the way the office is treating them and I suspect they fear Democrats will use it against them in the coming years as Democrats seek to make ethics the center piece of their argument against Trump.

But there needs to be an independent ethics body in the House of Representatives. Likewise, it is hard to argue the Office of Ethics has run roughshod over congressmen of either party. After the Democrats’ check kiting scandal that led to the downfall of a series of powerful Democrats, the Office of Congressional Ethics showed its value and necessity.

Congressmen have a tendency to scratch each other’s backs and cover for each other. I’m not sure, beyond what I speculated about above, why Goodlatte would want to scrap that office, but I think we can all admit it looks really bad.

….

For the record, these are the Republicans who were convicted of crimes in the last decade in Congress (all citations from Wikipedia).

  • Michael Grimm (R-NY) pleaded guilty of felony tax evasion. This was the fourth count in a 20-count indictment brought against him for improper use of campaign funds. The guilty plea had a maximum sentence of three years; he was sentenced to three months in prison. (2015)
  • Trey Radel (R-FL) was convicted of possession of cocaine in November 2013. As a first-time offender, he was sentenced to one year probation and fined $250. Radel announced he would take a leave of absence, but did not resign. Later, under pressure from a number of Republican leaders, he announced through a spokesperson that he would resign. (2013)
  • ….

There have also been Democrats, from William Jefferson who had money in his freezer to Chaka Fattah.

The Office of Congressional Ethics seems like a good idea and I have not yet heard a compelling reason for scuttling it, other than Bob Goodlatte wants more power.

Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)
Viewing 1 post (of 1 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.