Has House ethics committee set a new standard?
It will be interesting to see what the fallout is from the House ethics committee's recent report admonishing Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY). In admonishing Rep. Rangel, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, the ethics panel held him responsible for something the panel said one of his staffers knew about the details of a trip.
Will other members be held accountable for things they don't know about? Rob Walker, an attorney and ex-staffer for the ethics committee told Roll Call:
"I think the (ethics) committee needs to clarify what the standard is for holding Members responsible for the actions of their staff.
"I don’t think the principles enunciated in the subcommittee report are crystal clear enough to give Members sufficient guidance as to when they would be held accountable and when they would not be."
CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan told Roll Call she doesn't believe the committee meant to establish a new standard because doing so, she said:
"... would have to mean that the ethics committee would have to start investigating Members for staff misconduct."
Not likely.
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