2 Jan 2017 4:15 pm
Looks like the Republican House is about to do some unethical things.
They prefer to keep their crimes private.
So they don't want any transparency when it comes to ethics violations.An effort apparently is afoot today to weaken the House independent ethics watchdog, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), by placing it under the House Ethics Committee.
This would undermine the very purpose it is meant to serve.
OCE was created because Congress and the general public viewed the House Ethics Committee as having failed in its duties to police the House of Representatives, resulting in a series of transgressions culminating in the Abramoff corruption scandal and the Foley page sexting scandal.
OCE and the Ethics Committee are institutional rivals, with very different roles: OCE investigates bad behavior and adds transparency to the process; the Ethics Committee operates in secret and only it can mete out punishment.
Effort Underway to Undermine the House’s Ethics Watchdog
They prefer to keep their crimes private.