In response to the recent article 'S.C. congressman Clyburn rips ethics probes', which appeared in the Savannah Morning News, CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan penned this letter to the editor which ran today:

Clyburn wrong to blast ethics watchdogs

Rep. James Clyburn's recent comments about the Office of Congressional Ethics and my organization, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, suggest it is the congressman, and not CREW, who has "gotten a wild hair" and "just say things." (" S.C. congressman Clyburn rips ethics probes," Aug. 28).

First, contrary to Rep. Clyburn's statements, the OCE has played no role in the ethics investigation into Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-NY. Mr. Rangel filed an ethics complaint against himself with the House Ethics Committee. The committee then conducted a two-year investigation, found reason to believe Mr. Rangel violated House rules and federal law, and scheduled a hearing on the matter for this fall.

The OCE did investigate former Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga. - following a complaint by CREW (.pdf) - and reported that Mr. Deal had abused his office to protect his personal business interests and lied on his personal financial disclosure forms. The Department of Justice found enough merit in the report to open a criminal investigation.

A number of Congressional Black Caucus members as well as Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, share Mr. Clyburn's view that the OCE should be gutted, but it's not because the office has an "accusatory mentality about every violation." It is because the OCE is doing its job: Holding members of Congress accountable for unethical conduct. Thanks to the OCE, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., will be forced to explain her intervention with the Treasury Department on behalf of a bank in which her husband has a financial interest.

The OCE was created in the wake of public outrage over congressional indifference to scandals involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas - matters on which CREW was focusing public attention when the Ethics Committee was sitting it out. Even now, the OCE fights with one hand tied behind its back. The office has no subpoena power and cannot insist anyone speak to its investigators. Responsible leaders should talk of strengthening the OCE, not dismantling it.

MELANIE SLOAN

Executive Director
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Washington, D.C.

"Drain the swamp we did, because this was a terrible place,"--Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

It's a nice talking point, but with two senior members of Congress facing serious ethics charges in the coming weeks this seems a little premature. To be sure, we've come a long way from the days of Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff but now is not the time to give up the fight, or declare mission accomplished.

Fair or not, we live in a time where the terms "crook" and "politician" have become synonymous in the minds of many. It's a sad commentary, but Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner should consider this a challenge, and take steps to improve Congress's image. The upcoming ethics trials of Congressman Rangel and Congresswoman Waters suggest that the House is finally taking ethics seriously, but it is imperative for leaders of both parties to continue to hold members accountable.

If Rep. Rangel and Rep. Waters really do have ethics hearings this fall, it will mark the first time in years that any member of Congress has had his or her feet held to the fire in such a public manner. Clearly though, these are not the only two members to abuse their offices in recent times. While Mr. DeLay did resign in disgrace in 2006, it has actually been more than eight years since the United States Congress expelled a member. In fact, the House Ethics Committee has sat out entirely during most of the recent ethics scandals. The committee never reviewed the conduct of Reps. Duke Cunningham (R-CA), Bob Ney (R-OH), or William Jefferson (D-LA), all of whom ultimately were convicted of crimes for abusing their offices. Most members of Congress, however, whose conduct violates House rules but not criminal law, incur few if any consequences for their misdeeds.

Even some members who lost their seats over ethics issues only four years ago have reappeared on the political horizon. Richard Pombo (R-CA) is running for a different House seat than the one he lost in the 2006 election. Although never convicted of corruption, Rep. Pombo's behavior was nonetheless deplorable. He urged the Interior Department to suspend rules opposed by the wind power industry, which just so happened to have paid Pombo's parents hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties. He used taxpayer funds to finance a family vacation through our national parks, and he accepted more than $35,000 from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. These and other ethical lapses earned Pombo a place on CREW's 2006 list of the 20 most corrupt members of Congress and persuaded voters to oust him.

Similarly, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), is now challenging Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the Republican Senate primary. Mr. Hayworth, too, was tarred by the Abramoff scandal, receiving more than $100,000 in Abramoff-related donations and repeatedly using Mr. Abramoff's skyboxes to hold fundraisers without reporting the costs to the Federal Election Commission. In addition, Mr. Hayworth's wife served as the sole employee of his PAC and he paid her over 25% of money taken in, while also paying someone else for bookkeeping and fundraising.

For the past five years, CREW has released a list of the Most Corrupt Members of Congress. A review of last year's list of 15 members - 8 Democrats and 7 Republicans - demonstrates that ethical lapses may be the only bipartisan territory in Washington these days. Disappointingly, many of the members who have engaged in misconduct have never been held accountable for their appalling actions. Most have never received so much as a slap on the wrist by the ethics committees and many remain in Congress though voters have been wise enough to throw some of the worst offenders out.

Simply put, Americans deserve better. We deserve leaders who act with honesty and integrity. It is eminently reasonable for us to expect Congress to police itself and appropriately sanction those who do not meet the high ethical standards we are right to demand. Holding Reps. Rangel and Waters responsible for their misconduct is a good start, but considering it is Congress we are talking about, there is sure to be another ethics scandal brewing on the horizon.

Melanie Sloan is CREW's Executive Director. This post was cross-posted on The Huffington Post.

Another chapter from the Abramoff scandal may be coming to an end -- without criminal charges:

A Justice Department corruption investigation that helped drive John Doolittle from office has now been closed without charges being filed, the former Sacramento, Calif.-area congressman said Friday.

"I'm thrilled," Doolittle said in an interview. "They've dragged this thing out for six and a half years."

Doolittle's relief, though, is tinged with bitterness at how he believes the Justice Department has mistreated him. He says he accumulated $600,000 in attorneys fees, some of which he was able to pay with campaign funds. The lingering investigation hindered his ability to find work. In the beginning, he said, it proved "very devastating" to his high school-aged daughter.

It's official. Jack Abramoff, referred to in the media as "disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff," is out of federal prison: 

Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff was transferred Tuesday from prison to a Maryland halfway house to serve out the remainder of his sentence, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons told CNN.

Abramoff, who has been in prison in Cumberland, Maryland, has a scheduled release date of December 4, according to the agency Web site.

Abramoff, once a high-rolling Republican lobbyist, pleaded guilty to a raft of federal corruption charges in 2006. He admitted illegally showering gifts on officials who provided favors for his clients and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Among other things, the inquiry led to prison time for a former congressman, Ohio Republican Bob Ney; for Stephen Griles, once the Bush administration's deputy interior secretary; and for several former congressional staffers.

Another chapter of the Abramoff scandal is coming to a close. That would be the chapter where he's in federal prison. He'll be heading to a halfway house. Via Peter Stone at Under the Influence:

One time super lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who has been incarcerated in a federal prison in Cumberland, Md. since the fall of 2006, is expected to be transferred in the next week or two to a halfway house in the Baltimore area where he will stay for about six months, according to two sources familiar with his plans.

In January 2006, Abramoff pleaded guilty to corrupting public officials, defrauding four casino- owning Indian tribes of almost $25 million and tax evasion. He was at the hub of an extensive influence peddling scandal: to date, the Justice probe has led to a total of 19 convictions of former Hill aides, lobbyists, members of the Bush administration and one member of Congress, Rep. Bob Ney R-Oh. (He served a 17 month prison term after pleading guilty to conspiracy and making false statements).

The Justice investigation, which has been underway for almost six years, is still continuing, albeit at a markedly slower pace than a few years ago.

Today, Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney's latest documentary, CASINO JACK and the United States of Money, opens in theaters nationwide. If you care about public corruption and the influence of money in our political system, you really should see the movie and know all about Jack. Jack Abramoff, that is.

CREW's executive director, Melanie Sloan, is featured throughout the film, which explores the life of notorious (and currently imprisoned) former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. 

Melanie Sloan knows all about Jack Abramoff. CREW has a long history of exposing Abramoff's vast network of corruption. We have aggressively exposed Abramoff and his partners in crime: 

• In April 2005 we launched JackintheHouse.org - showing the American public the strong relationships between Mr. Abramoff, members of Congress and Republican activists.

• In May 2005 we highlighted the unethical conduct of Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), who had strong ties to Mr. Abramoff.  Rep. Ney eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy and lying on his financial disclosure forms and served 17 months in prison. 

• In September 2005 we issued our first annual Beyond DeLay report - now known as CREW's Most Corrupt Members of Congress.  Three of the members of Congress profiled in that first report, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Reps. Tom Feeney (R-FL) and Ney, had strong ties to Mr. Abramoff.  All three have left national politics.

• In February 2006 we filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records of visits Jack Abramoff and his associates made to the White House.  Our initial request was denied, but through litigation, CREW fought and prevailed in making these records available to the public.

There's so much more. This blog has 160 posts related to Abramoff and his reign of corruption. Posting this photo of Abramoff with President George Bush on January 8, 2007 was one of our most widely circulated ever. The Bush administration had gone to great lengths to avoid discussing any possible relationship between these two men.

CASINO JACK shows us that the fight against money's corrupting influence in our nation's capitol is far from over. 

Today, Jack Abramoff is in federal prison. But, CREW is still on the front lines revealing D.C. corruption: from exposing members of Congress who trade earmarks for campaign donations to advocating for greater transparency in disclosing which corporations will be influencing our elections in the wake of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. 

This week, Casino Jack and the United States of Money opens across the country. It's a documentary about the life and times of super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. CREW's executive director Melanie Sloan is featured throughout the film. CREW has a long, long history of exposing the wrongdoings of Jack Abramoff and his many, many cronies in Congress and the Bush administration.

Back in April of 2005, way before Abramoff was the poster boy for D.C. corruption, CREW launched a website, JackInTheHouse.org, which "aim[ed] to educate the American public about the relationships between Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, members of Congress and Republican activists." In May of 2005, CREW filed an Abramoff-related ethics complaint against Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH). We pushed the story into the national news when NBC Nightly News agreed to run a segment on it. Melanie Sloan explained at the time:

The complaint against Rep. Ney is based on his conduct with regard to the Tigua Indians of El Paso, Texas, a tribe represented by lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is known to be close to Ney. The complaint is based on e-mails made public by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, sworn testimony before the Indian Affairs Committee, tax records, and Mr. Ney’s campaign committee and political action committee Federal Election Commission filings.

We also issued our first report on the most corrupt members of Congress in the fall of 2005. There were 13 members who earned that notorious distinction. Three of them, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) and Rep. Ney were included because of their ties to Abramoff. In September of 2006, Rep. Ney pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of lying on his financial disclosure forms. Sen. Burns lost his bid for re-election in November of 2006 and Rep. Feeney was defeated in November of 2008.

CREW also filed numerous Abramoff-related Freedom of Information Act requests, including one to the Secret Service to obtain the records of Abramoff's visits to the White House. We had to go to court on that one, but we won. Turns out Bush had met with Abramoff several times -- and we even had photographic evidence:

Jack Abramoff is in prison now. He left a trail of corruption and shattered careers in his wake. We're told he's cooperated with the authorities. CREW continues to expose and fight public corruption in Washington, D.C. and across the country.

Goldman, CitiCorp, Bank of America, JP Morgan and John Mack's Morgan Stanley -- along with the Chamber of Commerce -- have all doubled down on their their bets, er, contributions to Congress and Congressional PACs in anticipation of possible legislation regarding derivatives and - gasp - consumer protections.  Texas Senator John Cornyn has been camped out in New York trying to fill the coffers of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.

 

All of this bears an eerie similarity to events described in my film, "Casino Jack and the United States of Money," about Jack Abramoff, lobbying and the influence of money in Washington, D.C. With this blog, we are releasing the first in a series of "flash forward" videos on the enduring value of the Abramoff story.  Though he was a piker in comparison to the lobbyists from PharMa or Wall Street, Jack's tale lives on through the growing role of money in our democracy.

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In this article, The Hill tells the story of the man who was "instrumental ... in taking down" lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

It's worth reading.

Virginia's governor-elect, Bob McDonnell, has named his choice to run the state’s Natural Resources Department. The choice is a strange one, especially if McDonnell wants to reassure Virginians that high ethical standards are important to him.

The nominee is ex-Bush Interior Department official Doug Domenech. TPM Muckraker probes Domenech's reported links to Jack Abramoff's operation:

During the Bush administration, Domenech served at the Department of the Interior as a liaison to the White House. In 2005, Wayne Smith, the point man at Interior for Indian casino policy, told the Denver Post (via Nexis) that Domenech would take calls from Abramoff operative Italia Federici, who would inform him of what Abramoff wanted. Domenech would then convey the message to Smith.

Said Smith: "Doug would come down and say, 'Italia called and Jack wants this.' That's how it all happened internally."