Freedom Line Blog

Immediately following the 2006 elections, when Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, then-Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi said, “The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical Congress in history.” 

It wasn’t the first time Pelosi (and other current Congressional leaders) made that promise.  Nor was it the last.

Today, nearly three years later, the lead story on Politico.com begins:

A leaked document shows that House ethics investigators are probing the activities of nearly three dozen lawmakers…

“The House ethics committee said Thursday that it was opening two new investigations — one into the foreclosure scandal of Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) and one involving financial questions about Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and her husband.

“But shortly after the committee met, chairs Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) interrupted proceedings on the House floor to say that an internal document on secret committee proceedings had been leaked to The Washington Post — and that it would name the names of many other members who had drawn the attention of either the committee or the Office of Congressional Ethics.

“According to the Post, the document identifies more than 30 House members.”

Read the full Politico.com story here. 

The Washington Post had the scoop.  The report by the Post’s Ellen Nakashima and Paul Kane can be read here.