The Office of Congressional Ethics was one step away from losing its independence
(Newswire.net — January 6, 2017) — The Office of Congressional Ethics was one step away from losing its independence after the GOP occupied Congress on Tuesday. The Republican conference, however, unanimously agreed to drop the proposal, after President-elect Donald Trump blasted the move as counter to his call to “drain the swamp” of corruption in Washington, Bloomberg reports.
The Office of Congressional Ethics, established by the Democrats as an autonomous controlling body with a mandate to launch criminal investigations on corruption and wrongdoings based on anonymous tips from whistleblowers, now remains as one of the least capable to challenge the power of the Republicans.
According to the GOP proposal, the OCE would transform into the ‘Office of Congressional Complaint Review’, losing its ability to conduct investigations or communicate with the general public.
The new body would also be monitored by the House Ethics Committee, as proposed by the House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia).
Not all GOP partisans agreed with the proposal though. During a conference meeting on Monday, the House representative, Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), argued against the proposal, the Hill reported.
House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi (D-California), accused Republicans of dismantling the only democratic instrument remaining.
“Republicans claim they want to ‘drain the swamp’ but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions,” she said in a statement.
“Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress,” Pelosi concluded.
In 2005, California Republican, Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham, pleaded guilty to bribery and tax evasion. He was sentenced to pay $1.8 million in restitution and spend eight years and four months in prison. In 2007, Ohio Republican, Bob Ney, served a 30-month jail sentence for conspiracy charges in a scandal involving lobbyist, Jack Abramoff.
Although established by the Democrats, the independent nature of the body resulted in sentencing Democrat William Jefferson, Louisiana’s first black congressman since the Reconstruction, to 13 years in prison after he pleaded guilty for being charged for bribery.