Quantcast
Feeds: Email, RSS & Twitter

Get Our Videos By Email

 

8,300 Unique Visitors In The Past Day

 

Powered by Squarespace

 

Most Recent Comments
Cartoons & Photos
SEARCH
« Roubini: Bernanke's QE Fantasy Will Fail, Double-Dip Odds Now 50% (CNBC VIDEO) | Main | How Obama Got Rolled By Wall Street »
Wednesday
Sep012010

Corruption Watch: Three Congressman Under 'Further Investigation' For Bribery Tied To Financial Reform Vote

WASHINGTON — House investigators have recommended that three lawmakers be further investigated to determine whether political contributions were improperly linked to votes on the huge financial overhaul bill.

The independent House Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the member-run House ethics committee pursue potential rules violations by Republicans John Campbell of California and Tom Price of Georgia and Democrat Joseph Crowley of New York.

The ethics office recommended no further investigation of five other lawmakers in the same probe: Democratic Reps. Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and Mel Watt of North Carolina, and Republicans Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Chris Lee of New York, and Frank Lucas of Oklahoma.

All offices of the lawmakers had received letters from the OCE by Tuesday and made the conclusions public.

President Barack Obama signed the financial overhaul bill into law July 21. It aims to restrain Wall Street excesses with the most sweeping overhaul of financial rules since the Great Depression, clamping down on lending practices and expanding consumer protections to address failures that precipitated the 2008 meltdown that knocked the economy to its knees.

The Democrats – Crowley, Pomeroy and Watt – voted for the final bill. The Republicans – Campbell, Price, Hensarling, Lee and Lucas – voted against it.

Campbell said he was "perplexed by OCE's decision, as they have presented no evidence that would suggest wrongdoing."

Campbell added that he "always complied with the letter and the spirit of the law. To suggest otherwise is unfounded and untrue. In addition, my voting record and opposition to a culture of taxpayer-funded bailouts has been and always will be unshakable."

Price said it was "truly a mystery" that his case was referred for further investigation.

"There being no evidence of any wrongdoing or any inconsistency in my policy position, one can only guess as to the motive behind their decision or even why they chose to initiate a review in the first place," he said. "My constant allegiance to a transparent and conscious divide between my official duties as a member of Congress and my actions as a candidate is without question."

Crowley's office said in a statement that he "has always complied with the letter and spirit of all rules regarding fundraising and standards of conduct."

All three lawmakers referred for further investigation had fundraisers last December, around the time of crucial House votes.

Price had two fundraisers, including a breakfast on Dec. 2 and a luncheon Dec. 10 billed as a financial services event. A special guest was Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee.

Crowley had a cocktail reception Dec. 10.

Campbell had fundraisers Dec. 8 and Dec. 9.

Campbell and Price consistently opposed the regulation legislation. Crowley, after attending his fundraiser, returned to the House and voted against Democratic amendments aimed at toughening some financial regulations.

In each case he joined more than 100 Democrats, including fellow New Yorkers, to vote against the proposed changes.

##

 

 

 

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:
Powered by FeedBurner

 

 

 

 

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (7)

The Government yesterday paid $1.775 billion - or $405 for every man woman and child in New Zealand - to take control of failed moneylender South Canterbury Finance's assets.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10670276
Sep 1, 2010 at 11:29 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
Sep 1, 2010 at 11:31 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
Sep 1, 2010 at 11:32 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
Sep 1, 2010 at 11:33 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
Christine O'Donnell, Delaware's Tea Party Candidate, Has GOP Spooked

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/30/christine-odonnell-delewa_n_699509.html

Interesting...
Sep 1, 2010 at 11:35 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail
Summer Rerun: Treasury Doth Speak With Forked Tongue (Housing Bailout Edition)

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/09/summer-rerun-treasury-doth-speak-with-forked-tongue-housing-bailout-edition.html
Sep 1, 2010 at 11:36 AM | Registered CommenterDailyBail

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
All HTML will be escaped. Hyperlinks will be created for URLs automatically.