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

[seafan]

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."