Stories by Jennifer Yachnin:
Feb. 10, 2011
A government watchdog group called for an investigation Thursday of House lawmakers who bunk nightly in their Congressional offices, asserting the Members are violating House rules and tax laws.
Feb. 8, 2011
Taxpayers are likely to foot the bill for at least $26 million in pensions for former Members of Congress this year, even as Congress embraces austerity by curbing its annual pay raises and voting to slash office budgets.
Feb. 1, 2011
The Senate Ethics Committee on Tuesday hired a special counsel for its investigation of Sen. John Ensign, but individuals on and off Capitol Hill cautioned the decision is not necessarily an indication of a more serious inquiry.
Feb. 1, 2011
An attorney for Sen. John Ensign (R) said Tuesday that the Senate Ethics Committee’s decision to hire a special counsel to lead its investigation of the Nevada lawmaker “does not change the course of its inquiry,” and said Ensign will continue to cooperate with the panel.
Feb. 1, 2011
The Senate Ethics Committee has appointed a special counsel to review allegations against Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign, the panel announced Tuesday.
Jan. 31, 2011
The Senate Ethics Committee reviewed 93 instances of alleged wrongdoing in 2010 but ultimately dismissed all but four cases without any public action, according to an annual report released Monday.
Jan. 31, 2011
The Office of Congressional Ethics did not open a single new investigation in the last half of 2010, according to a report the office released Monday.
Jan. 31, 2011
The House Ethics Committee is investigating whether Rep. Gregory Meeks repeatedly omitted information from his financial disclosure forms, the New York Post reported Sunday.
Jan. 28, 2011
The House Ethics Committee said last week that it knows a rules violation when it sees one, but it can’t specify what one looks like.
Jan. 27, 2011
The Office of Congressional Ethics on Thursday named Omar Ashmawy as its new staff director and chief counsel.
Jan. 26, 2011
What’s expected to be the last trial related to the federal government’s long-running probe of disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff got under way Wednesday. But there was no mention of Abramoff.
Jan. 26, 2011
The House Ethics Committee declined Wednesday to pursue allegations that three lawmakers’ fundraising events may have violated the chamber’s rules, and at the same time it rejected the Office of Congressional Ethics’ suggestion that the fundraising created the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Jan. 26, 2011
The House Ethics Committee announced Wednesday that it will not pursue allegations that Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Tom Price (R-Ga.) and John Campbell (R-Calif.) violated House rules in connection with their fundraising efforts in advance of the 2009 financial reform vote.
Jan. 25, 2011
Democratic leaders on Tuesday tapped Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) for the party’s top seat on the House Ethics Committee, putting her at the helm of the same panel that investigated her in the previous Congress.
Jan. 25, 2011
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Calif.) has vacated the top Democratic seat on the House Ethics Committee less than three weeks after she returned to the panel for the 112th Congress, Democratic sources confirmed Tuesday.
Jan. 25, 2011
Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) will take the top Democratic seat on the House Ethics Committee in the 112th Congress, her office confirmed Tuesday.
Jan. 24, 2011
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel found that George W. Bush administration officials likely violated the federal Hatch Act during the 2006 election cycle, according to a report the office issued Monday.
Jan. 24, 2011
More than one-third of the freshman lawmakers in the 112th Congress are millionaires, and as many as 15 are likely to rank among the richest Members of Congress this year, according to a Roll Call analysis of financial disclosure records.
Jan. 21, 2011
Melanie Sloan has decided to remain at the helm of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, reversing her earlier decision to join Clinton administration lawyer Lanny Davis in a private law firm.
Jan. 20, 2011
Sen. John Ensign doled out more than $97,000 from his legal defense fund for attorneys in the final months of 2010, according to his most recent report to the Secretary of the Senate.
Jan. 19, 2011
House leaders reappointed the Office of Congressional Ethics’ eight-member board Wednesday night, allowing the quasi-independent office to approve new investigations at its scheduled meeting Friday.
Jan. 19, 2011
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) plans to reappoint all the Democratic board members of the Office of Congressional Ethics, a source confirmed Wednesday. The quasi-independent House office could still find itself temporarily hobbled, however, if bipartisan House leaders do not reappoint the panel in the near future.
Jan. 19, 2011
The Office of Congressional Ethics as soon as Friday might find itself unable to take up full-scale investigations because House leaders have yet to reappoint the body’s eight-member board for the 112th Congress.
Jan. 10, 2011
The House Ethics Committee more than quintupled its investigations in the 111th Congress compared with the prior Congress — conducting 111 inquiries in 2009 and 2010 — but punished only one House lawmaker for violating the chamber’s rules.
Jan. 10, 2011
A Texas judge sentenced former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) to a three-year prison term Monday for his role in a scheme that violated the state’s campaign finance laws and funneled corporate funds to candidates in 2002, the Associated Press reported.
