Investigations

Forgot your password? | Subscribe

---

Biting a Feeding Hand

June 30, 2008

Several Republican lawmakers said last week that they will keep recent campaign contributions from Countrywide Financial — even as those Members call for House investigations into the mortgage company over allegations it gave sweetheart loans to VIP borrowers, including two Senate Democrats.

---

Two Weeks Until Start Date, Ethics Board Awaits Picks

June 25, 2008

The new Office of Congressional Ethics is authorized to initiate investigations beginning two weeks from today, but House leaders have yet to announce a slate of board members, and many potential nominees said Tuesday that they have not been contacted by House officials.

---

Ridge Files Very Late for Albania

June 24, 2008

For almost two years former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge failed to register a nearly half-million-dollar lobbying contract that he had with the government of Albania.
Ridge filed a registration statement on behalf of the country earlier this month after being contacted by the Department of Justice.

---

Wedding Gifts OK Under Rules

June 23, 2008

Wedding bells chimed for a handful of Members last year — when at least six House lawmakers tied the knot — but there are no telltale toasters, bread-makers or china settings to be found in recently released financial disclosures.

---

Renzi Colleague Faces Sentence

June 19, 2008

The recent conviction of the alleged co-conspirator in the public corruption case against Rep. Rick Renzi on separate charges in Texas could hand prosecutors a new tool in their case against the Arizona Republican, according to several legal experts.

---

Earmark Drove Jefferson Case

June 18, 2008

A federal grant that prosecutors claim was misappropriated by family members of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) apparently originated as a last-minute Congressional earmark in a 2003 appropriations bill. Though it is not certain that Jefferson requested the money, no other Louisiana lawmakers have taken credit for it.

---

Members Get Social Security Checks

June 18, 2008

When Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) turned 66 last September, he did what many Americans his age do: He applied to receive Social Security payments.
That put the Illinois lawmaker among the 50 million expected to receive Social Security payments in 2008, according to the agency that oversees the program, but it also puts him in a much smaller group: the handful of Members who are actively reaping the benefits of the New Deal program.

---

Dodd Denies Special Treatment

June 18, 2008

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) acknowledged Tuesday that Countrywide Financial informed him in 2003 that his mortgages would be designated as “VIP” accounts, but he denied that he received any unusual benefits from the lender.

• Members Dig Into Mortgages
• Conrad, Dodd Deny Wrongdoing in Countrywide Case

---



Sweeney Ex-Wife’s Role Is Scrutinized

June 12, 2008

Federal investigators appear to be looking into work performed by the ex-wife of former Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.) while she was on the payroll of an Albany lobbying firm with close ties to Sweeney.

---



Corruption Case Is Far From Over

June 11, 2008

The Justice Department appears to be nearly done with fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff, but observers say that should provide little comfort for other figures in the sprawling corruption probe.

---

Exiting Staffers Still Favor K St.

June 11, 2008

Although Congress adopted stringent new rules last fall in an attempt to slow traffic between Capitol Hill and K Street, more than half of the senior House and Senate staffers who have left their posts in recent months have opted for jobs in lobbying, consulting and advocacy.

---



Murtha’s Cash for Students

June 9, 2008

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has steered hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal and private money to a charity run by a Murtha protégé, which has as its primary mission handing out $250 checks to high school students in and around Murtha’s Congressional district.

---

Indictment Lists Family-Run Business

June 9, 2008

While Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) was not named in a federal indictment of three family members released last week, the bribery charges against the Congressman are connected to the family fraud case by a family-run business that appears in both indictments.

---

‘Shared’ Staffers Draw Scrutiny

May 21, 2008

The House Inspector General and Chief Administrative Officer want tighter supervision of the financial and technical staffers who work for multiple Congressional offices following a scandal in which a “shared employee” was caught embezzling money from Member office accounts.

• Another ‘Shared’ Aide Investigated

---

Campaign Work Pays Off for Aides

May 19, 2008

Continuing a tradition that comes with each election cycle, a small number of top Congressional staffers will likely earn more than the Members they work for this year.

---

Pearce Made Millions on Sale

On Aug. 18, 2003, an executive from Key Energy Services testified during a House natural gas task force field hearing co-chaired by Reps. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) and Heather Wilson (R-N.M.).

---



Foreign Gifts Test Rules

May 12, 2008

Even as new ethics restrictions have made it difficult for Members and staff to accept gifts — aside from token baseball caps or T-shirts — one area remains where lawmakers and their staffs can collect trinkets more or less guilt-free: foreign travel.

---

Rep. Deal’s Staffer Returns Payments

May 1, 2008

Chris Riley, the chief of staff to Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), has returned more than $90,000 that he was paid by the lawmaker’s campaign committee from 2004 to 2007 because it exceeded the outside income limits set under House rules for top Congressional staff.

---



Interior Department Probing Alaska Celebration

April 30, 2008

The Interior Department inspector general has opened an investigation into whether federal money was inappropriately used to pay for a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Alaska Volcano Observatory that recognized its chief patron, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), according to information obtained by Roll Call.

---

Profits on Sales Go Unreported

April 8, 2008

Dozens of financial disclosure forms filed by Members of Congress last year were apparently inaccurate, failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in income from stock sales and other transactions, but the Members believed their forms were correct because the House ethics committee approved them.

---

Boehner Urges Probe Of Hurckes

April 3, 2008

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said this week the House ethics committee should not wait for a Member of Congress to file an ethics complaint to begin a formal investigation into whether Rep. Dan Lipinski’s (D-Ill.) chief of staff, Jerry Hurckes, has violated House rules governing his dual roles as a House employee and elected local official.

• Illinois Aide Claims Earmarks Credit

---



House, DOJ Discuss Raids

April 1, 2008

The House of Representatives and the Justice Department are in negotiations over new protocols and procedures for law enforcement searches of Congressional offices — talks that began in the wake of the controversial May 2006 raid on Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) Capitol Hill office.

• Supreme Court Ruling Opens Door for Jefferson to Challenge Evidence

---

Lawmakers Prepare to Assemble Project-Rich Water Resources Bill

March 25, 2008

Four months after overriding the president’s veto to pass a $23 billion water projects bill, Congress is beginning to assemble another one.