CREW STATEMENT ON HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION OF REP. RICK RENZI (R-AZ)

28 Feb 2008 // Washington, DC - Today, the House Ethics Committee announced it would begin an investigation into the actions of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ), who was indicted on 35 federal charges last week. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has included Rep. Renzi in Beyond DeLay: The Most Corrupt Members of Congress report for the past three years.

Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor and the executive director of CREW made the following statement today:

"The House Ethics Committee has demonstrated its irrelevance once again by announcing an investigation of a member of Congress – Rick Renzi (R-AZ) – already indicted by the Department of Justice. The trick would be for the Ethics Committee to spearhead an investigation of a member alleged to have engaged in misconduct before the Justice Department gets involved. Mr. Renzi undoubtedly will have retired – perhaps to a federal penitentiary – before the Ethics Committee ever takes any action against him. The current stalemate on ethics reform simply highlights that despite all the rhetoric, members still are not serious about taking on their unethical colleagues."

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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 Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565/nseligman@citizensforethics.org.

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