CREW CONDEMNS ETHICS COMMITTEE FOR SHUTTING DOWN ETHICS PROCESS

19 Nov 2004 // Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington ("CREW") condemned the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for trying to further cut back on ethics complaints. Last night, the Ethics Committee sent a letter to Rep. Chris Bell (D-TX) explaining that committee rules prohibit complaints from including "innuendo, speculative assertions, or conclusory statements." The Ethics Committee publicly released the letter to inform members that, in the future, the Committee would not accept complaints that include such statements, and that the Committee may even sanction members who submit complaints that include such statements.