Q. I have a question about the recent news of an audio recording of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. I know that there has been a great deal of focus on the legality of the recording and it being leaked. But, I have now also seen some news about allegations against McConnell, himself, arising out of the recording. Is there any merit to the charges against McConnell?
Q. I am a House staffer with a question about members participating in special “VIP” discount programs that some businesses offer. The member I work for is preparing to buy a new boat, and the company he is buying from has placed him in a special VIP discount program. I’m concerned that this is the type of special treatment that might violate ethics laws. Do the ethics rules permit members to participate in a business’s VIP program?
Over a seven-year period, former Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., D-Ill, and a co-conspirator believed to be his wife funneled roughly $750,000 from his re-election account to pay for a $43,000 Rolex watch, furs, Michael Jackson memorabilia and other personal luxuries, according to a formal charging document filed by federal prosecutors Friday.
Sen. Robert Menendez continues to be hammered in media reports this week, with scrutiny expanding beyond alleged rendezvous with prostitutes and his cozy relationship with longtime doctor-donor friend Salomon Melgen.
A coalition of government watchdog organizations is at odds with a bipartisan group of attorneys over rules published by an independent ethics office related to cases of congressional misconduct.
The allegations against Sen. Robert Menendez may have started with unsubstantiated stories about trysts with prostitutes, but questions about the lawmaker’s conduct have reached the point where they’re not focused on sex.
Sen. Robert Menendez’s chief of staff sent an email to some of his boss’s closest supporters Wednesday that supplies talking points to combat news reports linking the New Jersey Democrat to a potential travel and ethics scandal. The missive offers an inside glimpse into the behind-the-scenes public relations campaign to bolster Menendez’s fortunes.
The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it would continue reviewing cases it received from an outside ethics office concerning Reps. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., and Aaron Schock, R-Ill., but said it would do so without forming a formal investigative subcommittee.
Dozens of lawmakers and staffers made what has become an annual pilgrimage from Capitol Hill to the desert in mid-January to attend the trade show hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association each winter in Las Vegas.
Melanie Sloan, the head of a government watchdog group, said Thursday she believes federal investigators are probing Sen. Robert Menendez’s involvement in an alleged travel and prostitution scandal, but predicted that the New Jersey Democrat would not be subjected to internal Senate discipline.
In the wake of an FBI raid on the office of a friend and political donor, Sen. Robert Menendez aggressively countered news reports Wednesday linking him to an alleged travel and prostitution scandal. And it is not yet clear whether the New Jersey Democrat is a target of any investigations by the Justice Department or the Senate Ethics Committee.
The Office of Congressional Ethics opened 32 matters during the 112th Congress and recommended that the House Ethics Committee review 13 of those further for alleged wrongdoing, according to an end-of-year report released Tuesday.
The House Ethics Committee was slated to announce Monday its next steps in two cases related to possible House rules violations by Reps. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., and Bill Owens, D-N.Y., but was unable to do so because it has yet to hold its first organizational meeting and therefore does not officially exist as a committee.
Outside groups spent more than $3.6 million last year to send members of Congress and staffers on trips to far-flung locations such as Indonesia, Israel, Ghana and Turkey, a figure that could increase as late filers submit their post-travel disclosure forms.
Attorneys who represent members during ethics proceedings say the process at the independent Office of Congressional Ethics is flawed and should be changed.
The House Ethics Committee on Thursday announced that it had ended its probe of whether lawmakers got preferential loan treatment by participating in the VIP program at Countrywide Financial Corp., concluding it did not have jurisdiction over any alleged violations that occurred.
Outgoing Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., broke House rules, laws and standards of conduct related to conflicts of interest when members of her office assisted her husband’s medical practice with Veterans Affairs, Medicare and Medicaid claims, the House Ethics Committee announced late Thursday.
Rep. K. Michael Conaway will chair the House Ethics Committee during the 113th Congress, Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, announced Monday. The four-term Texas Republican is a certified public accountant and has served on the committee since 2009.
The House Ethics Committee confirmed Friday that it has received cases related to Reps. Bill Owens, D-N.Y., and Aaron Schock, R-Ill., from the independent Office of Congressional Ethics.
Time is dwindling for House leaders to find and appoint candidates to fill at least four impending openings on the board of the Office of Congressional Ethics before year’s end so its investigative work can continue uninterrupted.
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Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
