Category Archives: ethics investigations

“Court: Thwarting congressional ethics office not a crime”

July 1, 2020, 7:55 amethics investigationsRick Hasen

Politico: A law prohibiting obstruction of Congress does not apply to schemes targeting the House’s Office of Congressional Ethics, a federal appeals court declared Tuesday. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling as it upheld a broader… Continue reading

My Thoughts on the Whistleblower Complaint

September 26, 2019, 8:31 amconflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

With the complaint released today, I’ve been tweeting about the case in this thread: Among the most disturbing allegations are those of a cover up by White House lawyers and the deep involvement of AG Barr. He needs to… Continue reading

“Trial of High-Powered Lawyer Gregory Craig Exposes Seamy Side of Washington’s Elite”

August 26, 2019, 7:57 pmethics investigations, lobbyingRick Hasen

NYT: It is a trial tailor-made to grab the attention of this city’s power brokers: In a federal courtroom this month, one of Washington’s most prominent lawyers — a former White House counsel and attorney to global statesmen and other… Continue reading

New volume of the Harvard Law & Policy Review is out

July 15, 2019, 11:00 amcampaign finance, ethics investigations, political equality, political parties, redistricting, Supreme CourtJustin Levitt

Chock full of election-law goodies. Among other pieces: Elizabeth Warren, Foreword (on corruption and faith in government)Jeffrey Clements, “But It Will Happen”: A Constitutional Amendment to Secure Political Equality in Election Spending and RepresentationViki Harrison,… Continue reading

“Trump Is Urged to Fire Kellyanne Conway for Hatch Act Violations”

June 13, 2019, 1:49 pmconflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

NYT: An independent government agency recommended on Thursday that President Trump fire Kellyanne Conway, his White House counselor, for repeated violations of an ethics law barring partisan politics from the federal workplace.In a letter accompanying a report to Mr. Trump… Continue reading

“Kellyanne Conway dismisses Hatch Act violation: ‘Let me know when the jail sentence starts'”

May 29, 2019, 7:54 amconflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

Awful.

Acting AG Whitaker May Have Violated Hatch Act for Taking Campaign Contribution While a DOJ Official; and May Know Identity of Undisclosed Donors Paying Him $1.2 Million Salary as Talking Head

November 20, 2018, 7:54 pmcomparative election law, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

NYT: Matthew G. Whitaker, the acting attorney general, was paid more than $1.2 million in the past few years by a group active in conservative politics that does not reveal its donors, according to financial disclosure statements released Tuesday and… Continue reading

“Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez is ‘severely admonished’ by Ethics Committee, ordered to repay gifts”

April 26, 2018, 1:47 pmchicanery, conflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

WaPo: The Senate Ethics Committee said Thursday that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who avoided conviction in a federal corruption trial last year, violated federal law and Senate rules in accepting unreported gifts from a friend and political ally whom Menendez… Continue reading

Federal District Court Strikes Down Montana Law Requiring That Individuals Filing Ethics Complaints Against Public Officials to Keep Complaints Confidential

December 19, 2017, 11:29 amethics investigationsRick Hasen

Order and opinion in Tschida v. Mangan.

“Postal Service broke law in pushing time off for workers to campaign for Clinton, investigation finds”

July 20, 2017, 2:34 pmconflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

WaPo: The U.S. Postal Service engaged in widespread violations of federal law by pressuring managers to approve letter carriers’ taking time off last fall to campaign for Hillary Clinton and other union-backed Democrats, investigators said Wednesday. High-level postal officials had… Continue reading

“Federal ethics chief who clashed with White House announces he will step down”

July 6, 2017, 10:03 amconflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

WaPo: n an interview, Shaub said he was not leaving under pressure, adding that no one in the White House or the administration pushed him to leave. But the ethics chief said he felt that he had reached the limit… Continue reading

“Post-Watergate ethics panel needs urgent makeover”

June 29, 2017, 9:09 amconflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

Meredith McGehee oped.

“White House Official Violated Law Banning Political Activity, Agency Says”

June 9, 2017, 11:16 amconflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

NYT: Dan Scavino Jr., the White House director of social media, violated a federal law that prohibits political activity by government employees, the federal agency empowered to enforce the law has concluded, citing the tweet Mr. Scavino sent in April… Continue reading

“White House Waivers May Have Violated Ethics Rules”

June 2, 2017, 8:12 amconflict of interest laws, ethics investigationsRick Hasen

NYT: The Trump administration may have skirted federal ethics rules by retroactively granting a blanket exemption that allows Stephen K. Bannon, the senior White House strategist, to communicate with editors at Breitbart News, where he was recently an executive. The… Continue reading