“Well, I certainly hope not. I’m not an attorney.”
— Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), quoted by Politico, when asked if he’s broken any rules or federal laws.
Schock Used Taxpayer Money for Another Private Flight
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) used taxpayer money to pay for a private plane to travel from Peoria to Chicago for the Bears-Vikings game on Nov. 16, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
“These new Sun-Times revelations are part of a growing number of questions surrounding Schock’s use of campaign and government funds to support his extravagant jet-set lifestyle.”
More Unreported Gifts Found for Schock
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) “attended dinner and drinks in 2011 at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and at a swank nightclub London — and never disclosed receiving a single gift on his financial disclosure form,” Politico reports.
“Schock, a fourth-term Republican congressman with a prized seat on the Ways and Means Committee, has hired lawyers and a crisis communications firm amid a burgeoning scandal over his high-spending ways and potential misuse of official and campaign funds. His office said it is performing an internal audit of his official accounts in response to questions over whether he improperly spent money from his House office budget and failed to report gifts.”
Schock Lawyers Up
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) “has hired two prominent Washington defense attorneys and a public relations firm to respond to the swirling controversy and a potential ethics probe over how he has financed his lavish lifestyle,” Politico reports.
“The move by the embattled Illinois Republican comes amid continuing questions about his use of campaign and office accounts to pay for pricey travel and accommodations.”
Schock’s Ethics Problems Grow
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), “a rising Republican star already facing an ethics inquiry, has spent taxpayer and campaign funds on flights aboard private planes owned by some of his key donors,” the Associated Press has found.
“There also have been other expensive travel and entertainment charges, including for a massage company and music concerts.”
“The expenses highlight the relationships that lawmakers sometimes have with donors who fund their political ambitions, an unwelcome message for a congressman billed as a fresh face of the GOP. The AP identified at least one dozen flights worth more than $40,000 on donors’ planes since mid-2011.”
Sometimes the Rent Is Too Damn Low
“In 1989, Rep. Bobby L. Rush moved into an office space in Chicago’s South Side, while the Democrat was serving as an alderman on the city council. He has stayed there — rent-free — ever since, racking up $365,040 in unpaid rent, according to an Office of Congressional Ethics report made public Monday,” Roll Call reports.
“The House Ethics Committee simultaneously announced it will continue to gather facts in the case, without launching a formal investigation.”
Ethics Chief Says Governor’s Office Threatened Her
The head Georgia’s state ethics commission said she was threatened and pressured by Gov. Nathan Deal’s (R) office in 2012 to “make the complaints” against the governor “go away,” according to a memo obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The complaints included claims Deal improperly paid for use of a private aircraft for campaign travel and questioned his use of campaign funds to pay legal fees during his 2010 campaign.”
Gutiérrez Faces Ethics Review
The House Ethics Committee launched a review of potential misconduct by Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL) and his longtime employment of a Chicago lobbyist in his congressional office, USA Today reports.
Fake GOP Websites Draw Ethics Complaint
“An ethics watchdog filed a formal request Wednesday for an investigation of National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Rep. Greg Walden (OR), citing his team’s use of phony websites,” the Huffington Post reports.
“Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington — citing numerous reports of 18 GOP webpages that masqueraded as sites belonging to Democrats — is asking the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether or not Walden broke federal law or House rules by tricking Democratic supporters into donating to the GOP.”
Petri Asks for Ethics Investigation of Himself
Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) says he is “distressed by the innuendo” that there is a conflict between his personal financial interests and his official actions in Washington so he took the unusual step of asking the House Ethics Committee to investigate him, USA Today reports.
Said Petri: “To end any questions, I am requesting that the committee formally review the matter and report back.”
McMorris Rodgers Faces Ethics Review
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) “is under review by the Ethics Committee stemming from her victory in an internal party leadership race to become chairman of the House Republican conference,” The Hill reports.
Former spokesman Todd Winer “made a complaint to the OCE after leaving her office early last year… In his complaint, the sources say, he alleges that the now-fourth-ranking Republican in the House misused funds during her battle with Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) for the leadership post following the 2012 elections.”
The ‘Virginia Way’ Meant No Ethics Rules
New York Times: “The Old Dominion — a commonwealth, as people here are quick to point out, not a state — has for centuries fancied itself a haven of good government led by public-spirited citizens dating to Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson. Strict ethics laws simply were not needed, the thinking went, because bribery — at least not in the most overt sense — did not happen within the chiseled walls of what is still called ‘Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol’ in Richmond.”
“This founding myth has been punctured in recent years amid lower-grade scandals, and many Virginians believe the notion has been shattered by a 43-page legal document that reads like the raw materials for the next great political novel.”
Lawmakers Skirt Law to Keep Next Jobs Secret
“A law designed to prevent conflicts of interest and shed light on lawmakers who negotiate for post-Capitol Hill work while still in office has failed, worn thin by a series of administrative rulings and narrow interpretations,” National Journal reports.
“The result is that lawmakers themselves now determine when a potential conflict exists and when disclosures should be released publicly. Moreover, because the law has yielded almost none of the public information it was designed to provide, it remains largely unknown whom lawmakers negotiate with–and whether their official duties present any conflicts with those employers.”
Ethics Committee Will Investigate Radel
The House Ethics Committee will launch a formal investigation into alleged misconduct by Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL), Roll Call reports.
“Radel has been on leave since late last month, when news broke that he had been arrested in the District of Columbia for cocaine possession. He is now checked into a rehab clinic in Florida, where he says he is getting help for his addiction issues that will enable him to get back to work — despite the many calls in and out of his home state for him to step down.”
House Weighs Ethics Charges Against Radel
National Journal: “With its deadline just days away, the House Ethics Committee was
keeping mum Thursday on whether it would proceed with an inquiry into a
possible House punishment against Rep. Trey Radel (R-FL) for his
misdemeanor cocaine-possession conviction.”
The deadline is December 19th.
Lawmaker May Have Broken Rules with Stock Purchase
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) last week alerted the House Ethics Committee “that he might have violated a new law restricting members of Congress from engaging in certain stock transactions,” the El Paso Times reports.
It is the first case to come before the committee involving a 2012 law that prohibits members of Congress from participating in initial public offerings, or IPOs, “other than what is available to members of the public generally.”
Cruz Failed to Disclose Ties to Company
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “potentially violated ethics rules by failing to publicly disclose his financial relationship with a Caribbean-based holding company during the 2012 campaign,” Time reports.
“When Cruz later reported the financial relationship in 2013, he failed to comply with Senate rules requiring full identification of the holding company and its location, triggering an inquiry by Senate Select Committee on Ethics staff and a second amended disclosure.”
Vitter Seeks Ethics Investigation of Reid and Boxer
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) “is pushing back against a legislative proposal that alludes to his prior connection to a prostitution scandal,” Roll Call reports.
Vitter asked the Senate Ethics Committee for an investigation of Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Ethics Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) contending that the offices of the two senators are running afoul of the rules with “attempted bribery.”
