Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is not only hosting a fundraiser today for embattled Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA), he strongly defended her to reporters.  You may recall that earlier this month, CREW filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Richardson to "determine whether Rep. Richardson accepted a loan in violation of the House gift rule, failed to properly report a loan on her financial disclosure statements, and engaged in conduct that does not reflect creditably on the House by loaning her campaign money at a time when she was in default on her mortgage."

More on the Hoyer's defense of Richardson:

Hoyer, known in political circles as a prodigious fundraiser, is hosting a Capitol Hill event on Wednesday to help Richardson retire her campaign debt.

"I agree to do, to be on the invitations, of many of our members, including Congresswoman Richardson," the Maryland Democrat told reporters today during his weekly pen and pad session. "Congresswoman Richardson has not been, there is no wrongdoing that I know of, of which she has been alleged to have committed. ...

"As I understand, she was, she defaulted on a mortgage," Hoyer continued. "You know, there are literally millions of people in America who have defaulted on mortgages. It's a real problem for us. But I know of no wrongdoing that has been alleged beyond the fact that she defaulted on a mortgage. Or more than one. I think there may have been two."

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked the Ethics Committee last week to determine whether Richardson reported loans properly on her financial disclosure statements, and whether she "engaged in conduct that does not reflect creditably on the House" by loaning $77,500 to her campaign at a time when she was in default on her mortgage.

Hoyer is right that "literally millions of people in America have defaulted on mortgages."  Only one, as far as we know, is a member of Congress subject to House disclosure and ethics rules.