Ethics Newsline®

WASHINGTON
New permutations of old ethics controversies continued to be the focus of news from Washington last week. Among the stories:

• The Senate Judiciary Committee is preparing to subpoena at least five high-ranking Justice Department officials in a probe of whether the abrupt firings of eight U.S. attorneys were politically motivated, according to a report from McClatchy Newspapers. The Department of Justice says subpoenas and hearings are unnecessary because it is prepared to cooperate and answer any questions lawmakers may pose. Several of the fired attorneys claim they were moved aside for up-and-coming candidates more closely allied with the Bush administration, and others have charged that they were let go after refusing to file charges against Democratic officials. The Justice Department has denied retaliating against the attorneys, with attorney general Alberto Gonzales writing an op-ed characterizing the controversy as nothing more that an “overblown personnel matter.” Gonzales’ dismissal of the firings, coupled with last week’s news that the FBI violated the Patriot Act in obtaining the personal records of U.S. citizens, prompted Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) to call for his resignation over the weekend, accusing Gonzales of politicizing the Justice Department at the expense of the Constitution, reports the New York Times. The scandal over the attorneys’ firing already has claimed one casualty: the quietly inserted provision of the Patriot Act that allowed the Justice Department to appoint “interim” U.S. attorneys without term limits and without Senate confirmation. Facing sharp bipartisan criticism last week, the Bush administration said it would not block a Democratic-sponsored bill that would repeal that measure. “Gonzales’ Justice Department had previously dismissed the legislation as unreasonable,” notes the AP.
• A loophole in new lobbying legislation has sparked a dispute between House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). According to a report from the Hill, a paper covering Congress, Pelosi wants to fix an oversight in the wording of a prohibition against flying on corporate jets — a mistake that has grounded about a dozen members of Congress who fly their own private planes. The House rules prohibit lawmakers from boarding a “non-governmental airplane that is not licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate for compensation or hire,” provisions that unintentionally have barred travel on most, if not all, private aircraft. While Pelosi wants to amend the rules by a process known as unanimous consent, a mechanism that does not require every member of Congress to record their vote, sources tell the Hill that Boehner will not agree to a unanimous consent vote unless other changes are made in the ethics code. Boehner reportedly has not revealed the specifics to the source who spoke with the Hill.
• The same set of House ethics rules also restrict lobbyist-funded travel, and also contain a loophole in that category, according to a report from USA Today. Colleges, universities, and other higher-education groups, constituting a powerful and well-funded lobby, are exempt. According to the report, higher-ed groups routinely seek help on issues such as federal student aid, immigration restrictions for international students, and federal grants. House members argued that they needed the exemption to be able to give commencement addresses, but as presently worded, the special rules would apply to all travel funded by higher education.