Press

PRESS

January 29, 2008

CREW Sends House Leadership Letter: Stop Protecting Members Invovled in Criminal Activity

Ethics, House Ethics Committee, Press Releases, House Members, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sent a letter today to Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner asking that the House leaders start cooperating with law enforcement authorities pursuing legitimate criminal investigations involving members of Congress.

Leaders of the House have been improperly shielding members of Congress – including former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) -- from criminal investigation and prosecution through an expansive and aggressive interpretation of the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution.

Members of Congress, like all other citizens, can hire attorneys to ensure that their constitutional rights are protected; this is not, however, the job of the House general counsel, hired at taxpayer expense.

Click Here to read CREW letter to House Leadership

Click Here to read the response from House Counsel

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Garrett Russo at 202.408.5565 or grusso@citizensforethics.org