Group Lists 13 'Most Corrupt' in
Congress
LA Times
By Chuck Neubaue
September 25, 2005
WASHINGTON — A watchdog group, naming what it calls "the 13 most
corrupt members of Congress," is calling for ethics investigations of some of
the most prominent leaders on Capitol Hill in a report to be released
Monday.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington says in its report that
the 13 members, among them Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), might have violated a variety of
congressional ethics rules.
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The bipartisan list includes three Californians: Reps. Richard W. Pombo
(R-Tracy), Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Rancho
Santa Fe).
Cunningham is one of two House members whose residences have been searched
as part of separate federal criminal investigations. The other, Rep. William J.
Jefferson (D-La.), also is named on the watchdog group's list.
Three of those named on the list — Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and
Reps. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) — were cited for their
dealings with onetime super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is the subject of
congressional and federal grand jury investigations. Abramoff was indicted last
month on fraud charges relating to a Florida business deal. He has pleaded not
guilty.
"They all violated ethics rules," Melanie Sloan, the watchdog group's
executive director, said of the 13 members of Congress on its list. She
criticized both political parties for what she said was a failure to police
ethics.
James Pendleton, a spokesman for Burns, dismissed the group's report as
"pure politics." Ney's press secretary, Brian Walsh, said: "We don't give
Melanie Sloan and her liberal organization an ounce of credibility."
Its report, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress,"
is based on news articles and other documents, the watchdog group said. It made
the report available to the Los Angeles Times.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington "was compelled to
research and release a report on these corrupt members because the ethics
committees in both the House and Senate are completely inert," Sloan said. "The
report calls for the House and Senate to act to investigate and take
appropriate action against them for these violations of the rules."
The watchdog group has been outspoken in criticizing House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay (R-Texas) for what Sloan calls his ethical lapses.
"Nonetheless, we recognize that Rep. DeLay is not the only member of
Congress whose behavior merits scrutiny," the report says. "There are a
significant number of other members who have engaged in similarly egregious
conduct, thus the name of the report: 'Beyond DeLay.' "
It says the group's goal is "to galvanize both the House Committee on
Standards of Official Conduct and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics into
action. The ethics committees have lain largely dormant over the past years
despite the often appalling conduct of their members."
Sloan expressed impatience with both parties. "Democrats are just as much to
blame as Republicans for the current ethics deadlock. The Democrats won't file
ethics complaints against even the most egregious violators like DeLay and
Ney…. The Democrats are spineless," she said.
Sloan said she had been unable to persuade any member of the House to file
ethics complaints that the watchdog group has drawn up against Ney and
Cunningham. House rules do not permit outside groups to file complaints.
"It is outrageous that outsiders can't file complaints, since Congress has
demonstrated its unwillingness to police its own conduct," Sloan said.
In 2004, Sloan helped then-Rep. Chris Bell (D-Texas), a lame duck, file a
complaint against fellow-Texan DeLay. The House ethics committee admonished
DeLay, but also said Bell had violated a House rule by filing a complaint
containing "innuendo, speculative assertions or conclusory statements."
The Senate does permit outside complaints, but Sloan said they were
routinely dismissed as "speculative."
Both ethics committees can initiate investigations on their own without a
complaint. Such investigations tend to be confidential in the early stages.
A spokesman for the House ethics committee said he could not speak on any
matter that may be pending before the committee. Rob Walker, chief counsel for
the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, declined to comment.
The 13 members of Congress recommended for investigation by the watchdog
group are:
• Sen. Bill Frist: The report accuses him of violating federal
campaign finance laws in how he disclosed a campaign loan. It also calls for an
inquiry over his recent sale of stock in HCA Inc., his family's hospital
corporation. The sale has raised questions about possible insider dealing.
Frist aides confirmed Friday that the SEC was investigating. They have denied
claims of campaign finance violations.
• Rep. Roy Blunt: The report criticizes him for trying to insert
provisions into bills that would have benefited, in one case, a client of his
lobbyist son and in another case, the employer of his lobbyist girlfriend, now
his wife.
• Sen. Conrad Burns: The report says that questions arose over $3
million in appropriations he earmarked for an Indian tribe in Michigan that was
a client of lobbyist Abramoff. The senator received substantial campaign
contributions from Abramoff and various clients.
"Sen. Burns did nothing wrong, and any accusation to the contrary is pure
politics," said James Pendleton, his director of communications. He said Burns
had earmarked the appropriation at the request of the Michigan congressional
delegation.
• Rep. Bob Ney: The report says the chairman of the House
Administration Committee went on a golf outing to Scotland in 2002, arranged by
Abramoff, at a time when the congressman was trying to insert a provision into
legislation to benefit one of Abramoff's tribal clients.
Ney reported to the House that the trip was paid for entirely by the
National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, which
denied paying any of the costs. Ney has said he had been duped by Abramoff.
• Rep. Tom Feeney: The report says he incorrectly reported that a
golf trip to Scotland with Abramoff in 2003 was paid for by the National Center
for Public Policy Research, which denied it. A Feeney aide said the congressman
had been misled. Questions also have arisen about two other privately funded
trips.
• Rep. Richard W. Pombo: He paid his wife and brother $357,325 in
campaign funds in the last four years, the report says. He also supported the
wind-power industry before the Department of Interior without disclosing that
his parents received hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from
wind-power turbines on their ranch.
Brian Kennedy, a spokesman for Pombo, said that "each of the charges is
baseless." He called the watchdog group "a Democratic attack group, and all of
their charges should be taken with a grain of salt."
• Rep. Maxine Waters: The report cites a December 2004 Los
Angeles Times investigation disclosing how members of the congresswoman's
family have made more than $1 million in the last eight years by doing business
with companies, candidates and causes that Waters has helped. Before
publication of the Times investigation last year, Waters declined to be
interviewed, but said of her family members: "They do their business, and I do
mine."
• Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.): The report says he encountered
controversy over disclosures that Pennsylvania taxpayers paid for his
children's schooling while they lived in Virginia. Santorum maintained he did
nothing wrong, and has pulled his children out of the school, according to
reports.
• Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham and William J. Jefferson: Both
congressional veterans are under federal investigation.
Cunningham, who has announced that he will not run for reelection, faces
questions over his dealings with a defense contractor who allegedly overpaid
him when he purchased Cunningham's house. Jefferson is under scrutiny for his
role in an overseas business deal. Normally the House ethics committee does not
hold inquiries while criminal investigations are underway.
• Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.): The report says that questions
have been raised about his private business interests, including a savings and
loan in Asheville, N.C., and personal business interests in Russia.
• Rep. Marilyn N. Musgrave (R-Colo.) and Rep. Rick Renzi
(R-Ariz.): Both second-term House members encountered criticisms tied to
campaign activities, the report says.
Musgrave was accused of misusing her congressional office for campaign
purposes. Renzi was accused of financing portions of his 2002 campaign with
improper loans.
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