US Rep. Bill Young (R-FL) , 6 others, under House investigation according to leaked internal report

[seafan]

AP/WP reported late last night:


Oct 29, 10:41 PM EDT

Ethics committee internal report gets out

By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A confidential weekly report of the House ethics committee found its way to an Internet site in a case of "cyber-hacking," the committee's chairwoman said Thursday.

The report from last July contains a summary of the committee's work at the time, but Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., the panel's chairwoman, said no inferences should be made about anyone whose name is mentioned.

.....

The Washington Post reported the document was disclosed on a publicly accessible computer network and made available to the newspaper by a source familiar with such networks.

Lofgren assured lawmakers that their appearance on the report does not signify any wrongdoing.

The committee's task is to "explore extraneous matters that come to our attention, a stray newspaper article, a comment involving members and staff, to make sure that there is nothing serious in the course of doing that.

"No inference should be made as to any member. We might have a newspaper article that we look at. There is nothing to it, but we have to make sure that that is the case."

.....

Rep. Jo Bonner of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the evenly divided committee, also assured lawmakers that no inference can be made that anyone named in the document is under investigation.
He said someone's name could be in the report if they made a routine inquiry to seek committee approval for travel.

:rofl: My, my, they are falling all over themselves to head this one off.



Tampa Bay's The Buzz has the goods on one of ours:



C.W. Bill Young among lawmakers named in House investigation

Posted by Alex Leary at 11:44:11 PM on October 29, 2009

U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores, is among a group of lawmakers under scrutiny by House ethics investigators looking at ties between defense appropriators and lobbyists, the Washington Post reported late Thursday.

The story is based on a confidential document posted online by a House staffer who has been fired. It shows investigators have been probing the relationship between seven members of the defense appropriations subcommittee and PMA, a lobbying firm founded by Paul Magliocchetti that has been under criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

But the chair of the House ethics committee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif, issued a statement that said many lawmakers may be under review by the committee at any point in time. "No inference to any misconduct can be made from the fact that a matter is simply before the committee," she said in her statement.
Contribution records show Young has received $460,000 from PMA Group and its clients, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Young's ties to lobbyists recently came under scrutiny in another context -- for former staffers of his that now work for defense contractors. (background here) Young has faulted the report for insinuating impropriety.

And Young this summer tried to put some distance between himself and a St. Petersburg contractor, Conax Florida Corp, by withdrawing earmark requests after the company's offices were raided by the FBI. That investigation continues.

.....

Clean out this nest of snakes, no matter who they are.



Is this another Duke Cunningham saga unfolding?


Oh, and it doesn't sound like *a hacker* did this, AP/WP.

[boobooday]

1. Yes indeedy

Let's look into those defense contractors, their lobbyists, and every member of congress who has done their bidding.

[DainBramaged]

2. I heard on M$NBC this morning it was an employee now fired

who put the report on the wrong server??

[ellenfl]

3. wouldn't it be nice if this got us to publicly funded elections! eom

[Uncle Joe]

4. But the only pics, I've seen on Comcast's Website are of Democratic Women.

What's that all about?

Doesn't Comcast.net have room for six photos?:shrug:

[BeHereNow]

5. Six cockroaches found? Only six? Hundreds more where they came from.

I guess its a start.
BHN

[seafan]

6. These 7 people are associated with the Defense Appropriations subcommittee...

and their ties with lobbyists.


One lobbyist in particular: Paul Magliocchetti

[BeHereNow]

7. No doubt, they will be given a slap on their wrists...

in that the entire machine in Washington is engaged in
equally nefarious dealings.

Sorry, I don't hold much hope these days.
I would guess their fate will involve shuffling them off
to some executive board positions.
In fact, I'll bet on it.

BHN

[seafan]

8. The 7: Murtha, Dicks, Visclosky, Moran, Kaptur, Young, Tiahrt

From NPR:


October 30, 2009

Update at 2:05 p.m. ET: Politico now writes that "seven members of the powerful House panel that handles the Pentagon's purse -- and the lucrative earmarks inside -- have been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, according to an internal ethics committee document obtained by The Washington Post. The list includes the names of the five most senior defense appropriators from the majority Democratic side -- Reps. John Murtha, Norm Dicks, Peter Visclosky, Jim Moran and Marcy Kaptur -- as well as the ranking Republican on the committee, Bill Young of Florida, and Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), who is in the midst of a tough primary battle for the Senate seat being left open by retiring Sen. Sam Brownback."

According to the WP, there are at least 33 lawmakers under investigation.



WP:

The 22-page "Committee on Standards Weekly Summary Report" gives brief summaries of ethics panel investigations of the conduct of 19 lawmakers and a few staff members. It also outlines the work of the new Office of Congressional Ethics, a quasi-independent body that initiates investigations and provides recommendations to the ethics committee. The document indicated that the office was reviewing the activities of 14 other lawmakers. Some were under review by both ethics bodies.

According to NPR:

The only names the committee wanted to publicly acknowledge yesterday were those of California Democrats Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson.

The Associated Press writes that "Waters came under scrutiny after former Treasury Department officials said she helped arrange a meeting between regulators and executives at OneUnited Bank last year without mentioning her husband's financial ties to the institution. ... The investigation also will determine whether Richardson received an impermissible gift or preferential treatment from a lender, 'relating to the foreclosure, recission of the foreclosure sale or loan modification agreement' for her Sacramento, Calif., property."