Ethics probes may be least of Congress’ problems
“House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers and several aides in inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a confidential House ethics committee report prepared in July.”
The probes are apparently in various stages of investigation, and many could end up dismissed. But one major focus involves seven members of a defense appropriations subcommittee, including its chairman, Democrat John Murtha of Pennsylvania. The question is whether members or aides inserted budget earmarks for campaign contributions and other considerations.
In addition to the ethics probes, the Justice Department has been sniffing around Murtha and his subcommittee, which could mean criminal prosecution.
It’s impossible to know whether indictments will be or should be issued in the case. Prosecutors will go where the evidence takes them. But the earmarking practice is so fraught with temptation that corruption seems almost inevitable.
Earmarks for a project in your district — a bridge, a highway, etc. — are bad enough. But in this case we’re talking multi-million-dollar earmarks not for a project but for specific private companies. Those companies don’t have to prove their worth to the Pentagon or go through any assessment process. Murtha and his colleagues have the power to just write those appropriations into the defense bill, and a whole lobbying enterprise has naturally sprung up to “encourage” them to do so. Much of the Justice probe apparently centers around one particular lobbying company, the PMA Group, which had close ties to Murtha.
While the cases of individual members play out, Congress as an institution has to act. The American people already hold it in deep distrust and even contempt, gauging from the polls, and this news is not exactly going to help matters. At the very least, it ought to ban all earmarks to private companies, period, because it is an inherently corrupting practice.
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271 comments Add your comment
joe matarotz
October 30th, 2009
7:44 am
When the fox is in charge of guarding the hen house, the results are inevitable.
AmVet
October 30th, 2009
7:45 am
Washington DC is corporate controlled territory.
The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door. That’s the only difference. ~Ralph Nader
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!
October 30th, 2009
7:49 am
House ethics investigators have been scrutinizing the activities of more than 30 lawmakers
Who’s investigating the House Ethics Committee?
AmVet
October 30th, 2009
7:56 am
Ha, good one Duhng!
About once every six months you get one right.
GOP is Gone
October 30th, 2009
7:56 am
Kind of like when Bush appointed a lead lobbyist for the Pharmaceutical industry as head of the FDA?
GOP is Gone
October 30th, 2009
7:58 am
Or Scalia would not recluse himself from a vote on an environmental issue when he had gone hunting with the same defendants 2 weeks prior to the ruling?
GOP is Gone
October 30th, 2009
8:00 am
Or Cheney getting non bid contracts for his old company Haliburton to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars?
thomas
October 30th, 2009
8:01 am
wow!
5 post in and someone found a way to make this about Bush.
Shawny
October 30th, 2009
8:03 am
Murtha is the biggest criminal in Wash.
Jimmy62
October 30th, 2009
8:03 am
They are all bums, right and left. We should randomly rearrange districts and throw them all out and elect some new ones.
USinUK
October 30th, 2009
8:08 am
I’m glad to hear that the aides are also included in this probe – they weild more power (and have less culpability) than our Congresscritters.
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:09 am
thomas
No surprises there. Attempts at diversion are standard rebuttal fare. Same as a kid who gets caught doing something and his response is “Well, Jimmy did….” But it doesn’t really matter, as the 7:45 noted. I’ve said in the past much of the Democratic ‘outrage’ over ‘Republican whatever’ is not grounded in principle, it’s grounded in ‘let’s exploit this for political advantage.’ Spkr Pelosi’s ‘we’re going to drain the swam of this Culture of Corruption’ is but one example. In this case Democrats took over the swamp and began filling it some more.
But Jay has a good point. If Congress doesn’t have the fortitude to ban earmarks (notice the President’s equivocating of “I didn’t say all earmarks, just bad earmarks”) then maybe they’ll ban for private companies. Teeny tiny baby steps. It’s a start.
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:11 am
USinUK
Ah yes, the permanent bureaucracy. But those aides do rotate out of government service, eventually. Where do you think lobbyists come from?
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
October 30th, 2009
8:11 am
Well, what we need is some Patriotic lawmakers that think of the country first. Instead of wanting to line their pockets with taxpayer money. We need more people like old Johnny Isakson. He come right out yesterday to defend homeowners and wants to extend the homebuyer tax credit. There wasn’t nothing in it for him. Sure, he owns a big realty co. but I’m dead certain that didn’t have nothing to do with his Patriotic act. He was just thinking of humble folks that want to buy a home.
As for the others, I say throw them all in jail. Especially if they have a D after their name.
Have a good day everybody.
Jimmy Carter
October 30th, 2009
8:12 am
Sting: Obama best person to handle world’s ‘mess’…
Ah yes, whenever I think about the important issues facing mankind, “Sting” immediately comes to mind. A close second would be “Bono”.
To avoid any confusion, this “Sting” is the musical version, not the pro “rassler”, and Bono is of U2 fame. The other Bono is “Sonny”, but he’s not with us anymore.
Atlanta Native
October 30th, 2009
8:12 am
There is at least one way that Georgia is superior to the federal government and some other states. Georgia has the “single purpose doctrine” which holds that any bill can only cover one subject matter. This means that a solid waste management bill cannot have funding for a peanut museum attached. They must be separate bills.
Imagine what that would do in Washington!
stands for decibels
October 30th, 2009
8:13 am
We should randomly rearrange districts
I agree with this post.
Jimmy Carter
October 30th, 2009
8:14 am
USinUK
October 30th, 2009
8:08 am
I know we’re near “All Hallow’s Eve” because something strange just happened……..we agreed on something.
stands for decibels
October 30th, 2009
8:14 am
Sting: Obama best person to handle world’s ‘mess’…
We covered this wingnut talking point downstairs.
Turd Ferguson
October 30th, 2009
8:15 am
Quite sad news. Should Chuck Norris here of these shenigans the its gonna be a BAADD day.
AmVet
October 30th, 2009
8:16 am
Jimmy62, amen to that.
But in reality the huge corporate money and even larger influence, as well as the endless gerrymandering means that only about forty districts or so are even in play.
The flipsides of the US Mafia, aka the R&D Party, ensure they get theirs first, last and always…
Turd Ferguson
October 30th, 2009
8:16 am
“Sting: Obama best person to handle world’s ‘mess’… ”
OH I sent Mr Sting a nice long emule regarding such silly statements.
Im with you Jimmy…where has Boner been? Im surprised he allowed Sting to upstage him in this manner.
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:17 am
Hmmm. Been a half hour and none of the Progressive Democratic Stalwarts have risen up to condemn this? (maybe…. I’m not sure about one or two of the monikers).
Add ’silence in the face of evidence’ along with ‘diversion’ in the list of liberal response strategies.
USinUK
October 30th, 2009
8:18 am
not jimmeh –
you knew it had to happen eventually!!
paul –
“Ah yes, the permanent bureaucracy. But those aides do rotate out of government service, eventually. Where do you think lobbyists come from?”
I thought you got them from sowing dragons’ teeth … ??
USinUK
October 30th, 2009
8:21 am
paul –
“Been a half hour and none of the Progressive Democratic Stalwarts have risen up to condemn this? ”
???
what ARE you talking about
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:21 am
USinUK
Jason and the Argonauts? Yeah, now that I think of it, they do look like lobbyists!
Jimmy Carter
October 30th, 2009
8:21 am
Turd Ferguson
October 30th, 2009
8:16 am
I remember the good ol’ days when musicians were musicians and treated their craft as something personal and unique. Now, everything has a political or commercial angle.
Remember when commercials and TV shows DIDN’T use original songs by the artists? They artists wouldn’t let them do it. Something about integrity. Now, the songs we grew up loving (and many artists) are used to pimp every commercial product on the market.
stands for decibels
October 30th, 2009
8:22 am
what ARE you talking about
Paul’s inner concern troll got the better of him.
USinUK
October 30th, 2009
8:22 am
TF –
Chuck Norris’s calendar goes straight from March 31 to April 2 … NO ONE fools Chuck Norris.
USinUK
October 30th, 2009
8:24 am
Paul –
“Jason and the Argonauts? Yeah, now that I think of it, they do look like lobbyists!”
not jason and the argonauts – THEY didn’t spring from the dragons’ teeth – the army sprang from the teeth … I hereby sentence you to 1 saturday afternoon watching the Ray Harryhousen (sp?) classic.
Turd Ferguson
October 30th, 2009
8:24 am
Here here JC. That Boner, from U2 is a real crap-pile. Also heard about Sean Penn kissing the rump of one Hugo Chavez.
Wow…Boner, Sting, penn…what would we do without these intellectuals.
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:25 am
USinUK 8:21
Okay, you’re pulling my leg, right?
Normal
October 30th, 2009
8:25 am
It’s especially disheartening to me because Murtha is ex-military and military men have an ingrained sense of right and wrong. If this is true, then I guess that a seat in Congress perverts the best of them.
My God, that is depressing.
Normal
October 30th, 2009
8:26 am
Chuck Norris wears thongs.
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:27 am
USinUK
Didn’t the bad guy reach into his sack and scatter the teeth and that’s when the skeletons with the swords sprang up?
Jimmy Carter
October 30th, 2009
8:27 am
Turd Ferguson
October 30th, 2009
8:24 am
Hey, let’s have some fun. Name a song and artist and which product it would be used for. I’ll start things off:
Rock and Roll All Night (and party everyday) by Kiss for Viagra or Cialis.
Joey
October 30th, 2009
8:28 am
Jay;
Great job of investigative reporting.
I only hope the Left Wing of our media will read what you have uncovered and choose to pick up this story and spread this worthy news throughout the land.
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:29 am
USinUK
I see – you thought I meant Jason and his Argonauts sprang from teeth, not that ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ (movie title) was the response and it was assumed that a scene from the movie was about lobbyists.
That’s understandable. But this is getting played out and still the Silent Majority of Democratic Denial reigns….
Jimmy Carter
October 30th, 2009
8:30 am
Normal
October 30th, 2009
8:25 am
But military people can be crooked as well. Just look at Randy “Duke” Cunningham. This guy was one of the more infamous, if not THE most infamous, Vietnam figher pilots. His story was legendary, but alas, he turned out to be a bum as well.
I agree, though, military people should march to the beat of a different drum. My father (Navy, 23 years) did.
USinUK
October 30th, 2009
8:31 am
joey –
you mean like the WaPo that originally reported the story???
keep up, son.
paul -
8:25 – not pulling anything. other than the “bushdiddittoo!”, who here hasn’t added a resounding “good” to the discussion.
8:27 – yeah, but Jason and the Argonauts didn’t spring from the dragons’ teeth (which is what I thought you were saying)
stands for decibels
October 30th, 2009
8:32 am
TF and JC, you guys can take comfort that there are still some conservative-friendly musicians who are “high on the popularity charts.”
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:32 am
Normal
Remember the bitter condemnation from both sides when that ex Navy fighter pilot Medal of Honor recipient Republican Congressman Cunningham went to prison? Notice I said “both sides”?
One hour and silence reigns….
Normal
October 30th, 2009
8:34 am
JC, I forgot about Cunninham, first ace of Viet Nam. You are correct sir. What years did your father serve and where, if you don’t mind?
Taxpayer
October 30th, 2009
8:34 am
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:17 am
Hmmm. Been a half hour and none of the Progressive Democratic Stalwarts have risen up to condemn this? (maybe…. I’m not sure about one or two of the monikers).
Add ’silence in the face of evidence’ along with ‘diversion’ in the list of liberal response strategies.
You really don’t get what’s happening, do you, Paul.
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:37 am
USinUK
Oh, I was perusing the prior thread then flipped up here and… where’d they go? Then the responses from the stalwart Liberals I could identify were… “Bush.. Scalia…. Cheney….” then… ?
Personally, I think Jay set a pretty good standard: take a political position, advocate for it, when your side goes off the rails, call them on it, hold them accountable and get on track.
What we so often have here is a response of “rails, what rails?” “Prove that’s a rail and that they went off it” or “yeah, well what about that car that left the road?” or my favorite: “………………..”
Joey
October 30th, 2009
8:37 am
USinUK;
No I mean like this story is very very very old.
I am surprised that Jay ever got to it.
And for Murtha it goes back to Abscam.
And Jay did not mention Abscam.
Turd Ferguson
October 30th, 2009
8:38 am
Deuce (KISS) Feminine hygiene products.
Paul
October 30th, 2009
8:40 am
Mea Culpa.
Cunningham was highly decorated, Navy Cross, no Medal of Honor.
GoingBroke
October 30th, 2009
8:40 am
Whatever happened to Obamas promise to reduce pork barrel spending? oops.. that was a lie too. Oh well.. so much for change…
So.. nothing will happen.. it never does. These folks all laugh and pat each other on the back and talk about how stupid people are for continuing to vote them in office. Seems like just a few months ago the democratic leadership, Pelosi, pounded her fist and said somerhing about ethics.. Hey Nancy.. how is the Rangle investigation coming?
Normal
October 30th, 2009
8:40 am
Paul, I have always believed (and call me gulliable) that members of Congress had to hold a higher standard of morality and sense of justice
because of their office and responsibility they hold. They are supposed to be the voice and servents of the People. When did they become the prostitute of business?
I used to laugh at the old saw of “If pro is the opposite of con, then progress is the opposite of Congress”. Now I just shake my head…