Congressional ethics scandals have been around as long as there has been a Congress.
But suddenly the Democrats who control Washington are cracking down.
The latest allegation involves a California representative, Democrat Maxine Waters, accused of misusing her office to benefit a bank with which her husband had financial ties.
And then there’s longtime politician Charlie Rangel, who faces a raft of accusations, including a failure to declare substantial assets on disclosure forms, and his conduct in raising money for a center to be named after him at City College of New York.
Both seem to be heading toward public ethics trials, which are unusual. Yet we’re glad to see the House ethics committee taking a hard line on ethical transgressions, even if it’s a position the committee has come to embrace only after being criticized for failing to act.
As “come to Jesus” moments go, it’s a welcome one.
Every time a member of Congress manages to slink around ethics charges despite well-publicized improprieties, it erodes just a little more public trust in the political process. It’s a dangerous situation because, really, there’s not much trust to spare.
For Democrats, who already are facing the specter of mid-term election losses, it’s unfortunate the two latest high-profile cases involve members of their own party.
The ethics committee has concluded there is substantial reason to believe Waters violated House rules when she set up a meeting between bank officials and then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. The catch is that most of the officials were from a community bank in which her husband owned stock and sat on the board.
A Treasury aide who attended the meeting told The New York Times that the meeting with the bank in late 2008 was not to propose a broader policy amid the banking meltdown. “They were asking for help for themselves,” former aide Stephen Lineberry told The Times.
Nothing much came of the meeting, and Waters has asserted a defense that is beginning to sound familiar. She says those she helped were familiar constituents she had helped in the past. It’s the same argument being pitched by Rangel.
But lest one think that ethical problems are the sole purview of Democrats, keep in mind the tawdry case of Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican who faces allegations he went to great lengths to provide lobbying clients for a friend.
The nasty details include accusations that he had an affair with the friend’s wife, and the connections were payback for the husband’s troubles.
The ethics police in Washington clearly have their hands full in dealing with our elected officials.
Let’s hope the newfound enthusiasm they’re exhibiting in pursuing ethics violations is a habit they intend to keep — because, while the names and parties may change, the corrupting influence of politics is a force of nature that must be reckoned with.
