Lofgren's Bad Day
It's safe to say that Thursday was an eminently bad day for Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat. Lofgren, chair of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, thought much of the news cycle that day would revolve around a 20-page report clearing Rep. Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican who had been referred to the committee by the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) for “an appearance of a conflict of interest” over his wife's involvement with a renewable fuels cooperative. The nearly 200-page report is not exactly flattering to the OCE and sources say Lofgren has long wanted to reclaim the first line of ethics investigations back directly under her committee. The OCE, an independent, bipartisan board of six appointees, was created in 2006 to “drain the swamp,” as Speaker Pelosi likes to say, after years of lackluster oversight at the Standards Committee.
But, then, a leak from the Standards Committee itself blew up the day. Lofgren ran to the House floor, announcing between votes that, “I regret to report that there was a cyber hacking incident of a confidential document of the committee,” she said. “A number of members have been contacted by the Washington Post that is in possession of the document.” The Post this morning led with a large headline: Dozens in Congress under ethics inquiry. The 22-page document, which includes ongoing OCE reviews ranging from queries of legality by members to stage two investigations, ironically proves the efficacy of the OCE – exactly what Lofgren didn't want. She also surely got an earful from the dozens of angry members whose investigations and contacts have now been inadvertently outed, the preponderance of whom happen to be Democrats (I'm sure the leadership is loving that). And the repercussions have only just begun. The Post followed up that headline with a story about seven investigations into the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense (five Democrats, including the panel's chairman Rep. Jack Murtha of Pennsylvania, and two Republicans). And another story this morning about four members whose tax information has been requested by OCE – Reps. Eliot Engel, Doris Matsui, Edolphus Towns (chairman of the Oversight Committee) and Pete Stark – all Democrats.
Meanwhile, questions are also being raised about the nature of the leak. Lofgren first said it was a hacker but then said it was inadvertently posted from home by a junior staffer on a peer-to-peer public site and that that staffer has now been fired. That raises all kinds of questions: why are junior staffers taking sensitive investigative materials home with them and what kind of security are their home computers equipped with, as PC Magazine wonders? At any rate – with the information out there, there's plenty of leads for reporters to follow. Democrats, had better brace for an uncomfortable few months of ethics questions – after all they're the one's in control of the swamp these days.
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1
"Draining the swamp", Nancy Pelosi style is simply more pi$$ing in the wind!!
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The "swamp" will be drained alright, in 2010!!-
1.1
I, for one, will welcome our new Orange Overlord. You betcha.
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Thanks, Jay. No doubt there will be lots of political infighting, thus lots of stories. I'm interested in the leak itself. There are soooo many govt. / biz examples of careless handling of confidential stuff – lost laptops, disks / drives, etc. Maybe we should go back to filing cabinets and paper, no? Maybe it's realistically unsolvable but we can't let our guards down. I presume YOU, Amy, KT, and Kate practice “safe computing.” (I'm digging for a really good link, will post soon)
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…and Jay, have a happy Halloween – ditto to KT, Amy, and Kate also. Are you all having an office costume party? What are the costumes (pics please)? I can see you as Eva Longoria or Katy Perry, KT in a leather catsuit / boots as Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) from “The Avengers”, and Amy as Dakota Fanning from “Twilight” or Lady Gaga (bubble dress?). Anyone show up today in a Kate Goddelin wig? thx -
3
These people are so incompetent at their job that one cannot help but wonder how they get their in the first place.
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"At any rate – with the information out there, there's plenty of leads for reporters to follow."
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Living in Pennsylvania, right next door to John Murtha's district, I shall be really interested to read your take on the corruption that Murtha has been doing for the past 30 years in this area, JNS.
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Shall I book you a room at one of the hotels here for you? I might be able to get you a great discount at the Bedford Spings Hotel and Spa!!-
4.1
Sorry, that should be Bedford Springs Hotel.
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http://www.omnihotels.com/FindAHotel/BedfordSprings.aspx
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[...] Swampland A blog about politics. Swampland Feed Daily E-mail Updates « PreviousLofgren's Bad Day [...]
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…Jay, here's one example of a careless potential leak seen by a biz reporter. How many biz / govt. leaks are out there daily? (and again, happy Halloween to you and colleagues, costume pics please!)
http://www.cnbc.com/id/30068005 -
7
The real issue, of course, is why the IRS seems to let these tax dodges go on.
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I do recall making comments about Rangel's tax liability. All the libs in here pooh-poohed it. Now it seems like a lot of Congressmen are cheating. Color me surprised.-
7.1
All the libs in here pooh-poohed it.
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Why am I skeptical of that comment?
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Rangel may still have allies in the House leadership, but he is no favorite among the rank and file, and I have never seen anyone defending him.
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What wouldn't surprise me would be comments that the GOP only seems to care about ethics when it involves a Democrat, and preferably a minority. It also wouldn't surprise me if people had noted that what Rangel is accused of is the type of unfortunate and condemnable personal corruption that must be investigated and punished, but which doesn't threaten the very foundations of civil society to the degree that does the (often legal!) revolving-door culture between Congress and K Street. A culture that the GOP has fostered and embraced without shame or apology. -
7.2
Go back and read, square1. The real issue, since Rangel's transactions were obviously in the public view is why NY State and the IRS don't go after him.
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If Rangel doesn't pay his taxes, why the f should I pay mine? -
7.3
If Rangel doesn't pay his taxes, why the f should I pay mine?
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Too easy, spob...
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Because you'll get put in jail. -
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The question was more of a moral one. And if I can get away with it, should I?
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7.5
And if I can get away with it, should I?
Yeah, and there's no such thing as a tax dodge.
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[...] Jay Newton-Small at Swampland at Time: It’s safe to say that Thursday was an eminently bad day for Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat. Lofgren, chair of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, thought much of the news cycle that day would revolve around a 20-page report clearing Rep. Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican who had been referred to the committee by the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) for “an appearance of a conflict of interest” over his wife’s involvement with a renewable fuels cooperative. The nearly 200-page report is not exactly flattering to the OCE and sources say Lofgren has long wanted to reclaim the first line of ethics investigations back directly under her committee. The OCE, an independent, bipartisan board of six appointees, was created in 2006 to “drain the swamp,” as Speaker Pelosi likes to say, after years of lackluster oversight at the Standards Committee. [...]
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9
"The OCE, an independent, bipartisan board of six appointees, was created in 2006 to “drain the swamp,” as Speaker Pelosi likes to say, after years of lackluster oversight at the Standards Committee."
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So, the real story should be why the dogs weren't barking from 2000-2006... -
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Square1
Quintessential liberal relativism
". It also wouldn't surprise me if people had noted that what Rangel is accused of is the type of unfortunate and condemnable personal corruption that must be investigated and punished, but which doesn't threaten the very foundations of civil society to the degree that does the (often legal!) revolving-door culture between Congress and K Street."
The Chief tax writer not paying taxes does not threaten the foundations of civil society? That is one of the dumbest statements I have seen yet.
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[...] wasn’t that long ago that Nancy Pelosi got a few Democrats in the house to buckle their knees with threats of ethics investigations. Is this also the case with Landrieu, who knows voting for this will cost her re-election? Would it [...]
- jnsmall DesireeRogers 2 testify! Er, no. WH cites sep of powers. Cause she needs 2 b able 2 speak freely on social stuf 2 prez: http://tiny.cc/uluW3 - 1 hour ago
- jnsmall @greebs the whole story was about cng reax to obama's speech! - 2 hours ago
- jnsmall @greebs also- if global warming's so urgent- why's the bill virtualy DOA in the senate? Noone thinks cap&trade'll pass b4 midterms, if @ all - 2 hours ago
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