CREW ASKS WHY SENATE ETHICS COMMITTEE ADMONISHED SENATOR CRAIG AND NOT SENATORS VITTER, DOMENICI OR FRIST

14 Feb 2008 // Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) executive director Melanie Sloan released the following statement on the Senate Ethics Committee admonishment of Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) yesterday:

"The Senate Ethics Committee found that Larry Craig acted improperly, which of course, was readily apparent. Although a sign that the Ethics Committee is not completely moribund, one has to wonder why only Senator Craig’s conduct merited action. For example, the committee has not taken up the case of Senator David Vitter, who admitted to the crime of soliciting for prostitution and against whom CREW filed a complaint a month before the Craig complaint. Neither has the committee acted on CREW’s March 2007 complaint against Senator Pete Domenici for improperly pressuring a U.S. Attorney. Finally, it took over two years for the committee to dismiss CREW’s 2005 complaint against former Senator Bill Frist on the grounds the committee no longer had jurisdiction over the retired senator. Hypocrisy reigns."

The Senate Ethics Committee's public letter of admonition is available on the right.

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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions.

For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565/nseligman@citizensforethics.org.

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