"What we did was perfectly legal and appropriate." That’s John McCain rationalizing his use of Cindy McCain's corporate jet for a fraction of the cost rate after having argued in favor of limiting senators’ use of corporate jets in last year’s ethics reform debate.

Remind you of anything? How about "There is no controlling legal authority that says this was in violation of law." Al Gore in 1997, describing the fundraising phone calls he made from the White House. Gore was rightly pilloried for his comments, which instantly entered the pantheon of classic evasions of responsibility – not far removed from "mistakes were made."

Virtuous reformer John McCain's ill considered remark deservedly should suffer a similarly ignominious fate.

McCain's use of his wife's corporate jet is just another reason we need a functioning FEC. Get the FEC back in action – Go to CREW's new website today at FixtheFEC.org.

Controversy swirled over the weekend over the decision by the McCain for President campaign's refusal to release the tax returns of John McCain's wife, Cindy:

McCain's decision not to release his wife's returns baffled some Washington ethics experts. They noted that plenty of detail about the McCain children's trust accounts and even their credit card debt is included in the candidate's Senate financial disclosure forms.

"I think this argument about the privacy of the kids is really a red herring," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "The fact is, it is precedent that presidential candidates release their returns. When you don't, it looks like you've got something to hide."

McCain in 2007 donated about $105,000 to charities, most of it -- about $88,000 -- to the family foundation that he and his wife run. That amounted to nearly one-quarter of his reported income for last year. But because the McCains file separately, it is hard to know if that is a large part of the family income.

"The raw dollar amounts certainly are generous," said John D. Colombo, an expert on charitable-tax law at the University of Illinois law school. "But, we don't know what Cindy McCain's income is, and we don't know if John has sources of income," such as tax-exempt bond interest, which would not be reported on a federal tax return.

Today, John McCain released his tax returns.  However, McCain did not release the forms for his wife, Cindy, who files separately.  CREW's Melanie Sloan thinks that presents a problem for McCain:

The Associated Press estimated this month that Cindy McCain is worth over $100 million based on the value of her late father's stake in Hensley & Co.

In 2004, Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry disclosed a portion of the tax returns of his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, heir to a $500 million fortune, three weeks before the election.

Hazelbaker said Cindy McCain's situation differs from Teresa Heinz Kerry because Kerry had loaned money to her husband's campaign and Cindy McCain hasn't done so.

Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the failure to release Cindy McCain's returns shouldn't fly with voters because transparency has been ``a signature issue for John McCain,'' and not releasing her information smacks of hypocrisy.

``He should just release the tax returns and make it a non- issue,'' Sloan said.

In light of Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-IL) release of his tax returns this week, CREW urges the remaining presidential candidates, Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and John McCain (R-AZ), to release their returns as well. When running for president, candidates must be willing to put all their cards on the table. We encourage Sens. Clinton and McCain to do so now.

Below, CREW has compiled a list of presidential and vice presidential candidates who have released their returns since 1992.

*Note: This list does not include incumbent presidents and vice presidents, who typically release their tax returns during each year of their administration.

The Huffington Post has obtained evidence that indicates John McCain may have withheld information about Jack Abramoff's dealings with Alabama Governor Bob Riley: 

A little-known document, however, shows that McCain may have taken steps to protect his Republican colleagues from the scope of his investigation.

In the 2006 Senate report concerning Abramoff's activities, which McCain spearheaded, the Arizona Republican conspicuously left out information detailing how Alabama Gov. Bob Riley was targeted by Abramoff's influence peddling scheme. Riley, a Republican, won election in November 2002, and was reelected in 2006.

In a December 2002 email obtained by the Huffington Post -- which McCain and his staff had access to prior to the issuance of his report -- Abramoff explains to an aide what he would like to see Riley do in return for the "help" he received from Abramoff's tribal clients.

An official with the Mississippi Choctaws "definitely wants Riley to shut down the Poarch Creek operation," Abramoff wrote, "including his announcing that anyone caught gambling there can't qualify for a state contract or something like that."

The note showed not only the reach of Abramoff, but raised questions about Riley's victory in what was the closest gubernatorial election in Alabama history.

CREW's Melanie Sloan had this perspective on the reality of McCain's actions when it came to Abramoff:

"Although Sen. McCain has long bragged of his role in the Abramoff investigation, he let Tom DeLay and the other members of Congress who were doing Abramoff's bidding completely off the hook. The sole exception was Rep. Bob Ney, who served time in prison," Melanie Sloan, Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics In Washington told the Huffington Post recently. "Sen. McCain knew what his colleagues were up to, he chose to take the easier path and give them a free pass."

"McCain Call Raises an Ethics Question" is the headline of an article in today's NY Times. CREW is checking that out, but it sure seems like McCain was at least campaigning from the U.S. Capitol building on Tuesday:

About 3 p.m. Tuesday, Senator John McCain ducked off the Senate floor, entered the Republican cloakroom and took out his mobile phone. Just hours after accepting the resignation of his two top campaign aides, he was making a conference call to his top fund-raisers to urge them to keep up the fight.

The call, however, may only have exacerbated an already tough week for Mr. McCain. Senate ethics rules expressly forbid lawmakers to engage in campaign activities inside Senate facilities. If Mr. McCain solicited campaign contributions on a call from government property, that would be a violation of federal criminal law as well.

There is no evidence that Mr. McCain has made a habit of making such calls or otherwise exploiting his office for political gain, and he is hardly the first lawmaker to call a donor from under the Capitol dome. But he made the call as he was in the spotlight because of the staff shake-up, sagging poll numbers and disappointing fund-raising of his Republican presidential primary campaign.

It was the kind of technical mistake that seasoned aides — like the ones his campaign is now letting go — are supposed to prevent.