In other news from politics and ethics, the White House plays defense over donor access; impeachment resolution against South Carolina governor delayed; New York ethics panel will not recommend charges in case involving Caroline Kennedy leaks

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK
Several major stories dealt with the interplay of politics and ethics last week. Among them:

• More than 30 lawmakers and aides in the U.S. House of Representatives have been under scrutiny by ethics investigators over issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, according to a document that apparently was inadvertently left on a publicly accessible computer network and has since rocketed around cyberspace. The Washington Post reported that the breach revealed details of a process that is normally highly secretive: Ethics committee members and staffers sign oaths pledging not do disclose any activities related to past or present investigations. Among those mentioned, according to the Post, are New York’s Charles Rangel and California’s Jane Harman and Maxine Waters. ComputerWorld reports that the information was leaked inadvertently after a junior staffer put the document on a computer equipped with file-sharing software. In the wake of the breach, House speaker Nancy Pelosi and minority leader John Boehner announced that they have ordered a review of the handling of sensitive data, reports Politico. The Hill, a publication covering Congress, reports that all but two of the lawmakers mentioned in the report are Democrats, leading the GOP to seize on the leak to claim that Democrats are not living up to their pledge of ethics reform.
• The Obama administration last week defended itself against allegations that it has rewarded major donors with too much access to the White House, as the Washington Times claims. ABC News’s senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper reports: “Every White House has rewarded its wealthiest contributors with various insider access and perks. Some of Mr. Obama’s more idealistic supporters may have been under the impression that President Obama wouldn’t be eager to engage in such activities, which good government groups argue tarnished both the Clinton and Bush White Houses.” Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said that contributing does not guarantee access to the White House and that the Obama administration has instituted “the toughest ethics and transparency rules of any administration in history.”
• An attempt to start impeachment proceedings against South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was turned aside last week when the state’s House speaker rejected the action. A lawmaker introduced the resolution calling for Sanford to be forced out of office after his weeklong disappearance in June, when he spent time with a mistress in Argentina, but the speaker said the measure is not appropriate under the limited terms under which the Legislature met last week, according to the Charleston Post and Courier.
• New York State’s ethics board will not recommend bringing charges related to leaks of personal and unsubstantiated claims against Caroline Kennedy, a contender who dropped out of the race for U.S. Senate. The leaks, reports television station WCBS in New York, apparently came from someone close to Gov. David Paterson. A spokesman for the New York Public Interest Research Group, a watchdog agency, complained to WCBS that the ethics board produced only a two-sentence letter saying the panel closed the case after a review. A spokesman for the State Public Integrity Commission says the board comments only on findings of wrongdoing, according to WCBS.

Sources: Politico, Oct. 31 – Washington Post, Oct. 30 – The Hill, Oct. 30 – ComputerWorld, Oct. 30 – ABC, Oct. 28 – Charleston Post and Courier, Oct. 28 – WCBS-TV, Oct. 27.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Oct. 26 — Related Newsline Commentary, Oct. 12 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 12 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 21 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 8.