House Republicans Vote to "Cripple" OCE

[de officiis]

WASHINGTON — House Republicans, overriding their top leaders, voted on Monday to significantly curtail the power of an independent ethics office set up in 2008 in the aftermath of corruption scandals that sent three members of Congress to jail.

The move to effectively kill the Office of Congressional Ethics was not made public until late Monday, when Representative Robert W. Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that the House Republican Conference had approved the change. There was no advance notice or debate on the measure.
...
Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader, spoke out during the meeting to oppose the measure, aides said on Monday night. The full House is scheduled to vote on Tuesday on the rules . . . .

In place of the office, Republicans would create a new Office of Congressional Complaint Review that would report to the House Ethics Committee, which has been accused of ignoring credible allegations of wrongdoing by lawmakers.

“Poor way to begin draining the swamp,” Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, said on Twitter. He added, “Swamp wins with help of @SpeakerRyan, @RepGoodlatte.”

Mr. Goodlatte defended the action in a statement on Monday evening, saying it would strengthen ethics oversight in the House while also giving lawmakers better protections against what some of them have called overzealous efforts by the Office of Congressional Ethics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/us/po ... .html?_r=0

[Speaker to Animals]

One wonders why the democrats think the FBI exists.

[Okeefenokee]

Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the majority leader, spoke out during the meeting to oppose the measure, aides said on Monday night.

“Poor way to begin draining the swamp,” Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, said on Twitter. He added, “Swamp wins with help of @SpeakerRyan, @RepGoodlatte.”

[Kazmyr]

This is a joke.

So they're 'neutering' the OCE, which actually lacks any kind of meaningful power other than simply investigating and finding facts?

Straight from the now ball-less horse's mouth:

The OCE reviews allegations of misconduct against Members, officers, and staff of the House and, when appropriate, refers matters to the House Committee on Ethics. The OCE is not authorized to determine if a violation occurred. The OCE is also not authorized to sanction Members, officers, or employees of the House or to recommend any sanctions. The OCE is not able to provide advice or education on the rules and standards of conduct applicable to Members, officers, and employees of the House.

From the NYT link DeO posted:

Among the most prominent cases brought by the Office of Congressional Ethics since it was created was an investigation into Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, who was accused of intervening with the Treasury Department to try to assist a struggling bank in which her husband owned stock.

Ms. Waters was ultimately cleared by the House Ethics Committee, but the committee criticized the actions of her grandson, who was then her chief of staff, and urged the House to consider broadening a ban on lawmakers’ hiring their relatives to include grandchildren.

Other than the investigation, where did OCE drop the hammer in that one? The committee is where all the sausage is made.

Not that I'm advocating we stop investigating the real life version of Mos Eisley, but holy hell, people. Calm your tits.

[Speaker to Animals]

FBI

[Xenophon]

Looks like Trump put the kibosh on this idea pretty quick.

[Martin Hash]

Looks like Trump put the kibosh on this idea pretty quick.

Wow. I've never seen anything like that turnaround. From a Tweet, no less.

[Speaker to Animals]

It's almost like we are seeing actual leadership.

[Penner]

One wonders why the democrats think the FBI exists.

How is this connected to the FBI and the Dems, again? It seems that the party in charge of Congress (the Republicans) are just making corruption even more prevalent.

[Speaker to Animals]

One wonders why the democrats think the FBI exists.

How is this connected to the FBI and the Dems, again? It seems that the party in charge of Congress (the Republicans) are just making corruption even more prevalent.

The FBI is responsible for investigating and providing evidence to federal prosecutors corruption in Congress. It's that simple.