Category Archives: ethics investigations
“Court: Thwarting congressional ethics office not a crime”
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
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”
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
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”
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'”
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
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”
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
Order and opinion in Tschida v. Mangan.
“Postal Service broke law in pushing time off for workers to campaign for Clinton, investigation finds”
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”
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”
“White House Official Violated Law Banning Political Activity, Agency Says”
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