Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday he will ask the Office of Congressional Ethics to disclose more than 200,000 documents from its investigation of the PMA Group, a day after the House ethics committee publicly rebuked his efforts to expose the details of its probe into the now-defunct lobbying firm.
The ethics committee announced Monday it would not act on any of four Flake resolutions referred to it by the House, which called on the panel to report how many people it interviewed, how many subpoenas it issued and how many documents it reviewed in the PMA probe.
“I asked the Ethics Committee to provide basic details about their PMA investigation in the hope that more information would give House Members and the public more confidence in the Committee’s work,” Flake said in a statement.
Together with Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.), Flake is now seeking the release of documents gathered in the OCE’s investigation of seven Members and their ties to PMA.
The OCE, an independent House office, recommended the ethics committee investigate two lawmakers and dismiss the other five inquiries.
The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the ethics panel is formally named, reviewed those referrals and issued a report in February declaring that no Member of the House and no House staffer had acted inappropriately in providing earmarks to companies that had hired PMA to lobby on their behalf.
Although the ethics committee is not required to release the OCE’s reports when it recommends a matter be dismissed, the ethics panel published all seven reports in late February.
Neither the ethics committee nor the OCE, which publishes the referrals on its own website, released the 200,000 pages Flake and Hodes are now seeking, however.
“They have 200,000 pages of documents from their investigation,” Flake said in an interview Tuesday. “None of this information is confidential, none of it was obtained with promises of confidentiality. I think it will help the Members decide how we go forward.”
Unlike the ethics committee, the OCE does not have subpoena power, meaning any documents it collects are submitted on a voluntary basis.
It is unclear whether the OCE will release the documents.
“We haven’t yet received their request. When it comes in, the board will likely take it up at their next meeting,” spokesman Jon Steinman said.
In March, the OCE’s eight-member board, led by ex-Reps. David Skaggs (D-Colo.) and Porter Goss (R-Fla.), voted to publish its investigation of ex-Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), who resigned from the House to run for governor.
At that time, the OCE board cited the House resolution establishing the office, which says the board can vote to release “any communication to any person or entity ... as necessary to conduct official business or pursuant to its rules.” It could potentially use the same rule to release the PMA documents.
Flake, who said he would release the documents to the public, said he anticipates the OCE would agree to the request.
“My guess is that they’re there as a creature of the House, to help the House with these kinds of questions,” Flake said. “I would expect them to make the documents public if they feel that would help. They were probably waiting for the ethics committee to do so.”
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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