House GOP guts ethics panel

House GOP guts ethics panel
www.cnn.com...

House Republicans gut their own oversight
www.politico.com...

Republican Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte's proposal would place the independent Office of Congressional Ethics -- an initial watchdog for House members but without power to punish members -- under oversight of those very lawmakers.

This will now be included in a larger rules package that will be voted on in the full House of Representatives Tuesday.

In one of their first moves of the new Congress, House Republicans have voted to gut their own independent ethics watchdog — a huge blow to cheerleaders of congressional oversight and one that dismantles major reforms adopted after the Jack Abramoff scandal.

The office currently has free rein, enabling investigators to pursue allegations and then recommend further action to the House Ethics Committee as they see fit.

Now, the office would be under the thumb of lawmakers themselves.

The proposal also appears to limit the scope of the office’s work by barring them from consider anonymous tips against lawmakers.

And it would stop the office from disclosing the findings of some of their investigations, as they currently do after the recommendations go to House Ethics.

The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) is an independent, non-partisan entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against Members, officers, and staff of the United States House of Representatives and, when appropriate, referring matters to the House Committee on Ethics.

...

Established March 11, 2008, by House Resolution 895, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) is the first ever independent body overseeing the ethics of the House of Representatives.

The OCE was formed after members of a congressional task force proposed an independent entity in the U.S. House to increase accountability and transparency.

The OCE’s mission is to assist the U.S. House in upholding high ethical standards with an eye toward increasing transparency and providing information to the public.

The OCE reviews allegations of misconduct against House Members, officers, and staff and, when appropriate, refers investigations to the House Ethics Committee for further review. While our two-stage investigative process is confidential, in almost all circumstances, OCE cases sent to the Ethics Committee must become public.

oce.house.gov...

So....The new Conservative Congress is open for business

The NEW rules..
(A) folds the independent ethics review board under the Congress they are supposed to police..Now reporting to lawmakers..
(B) prohibits them from investigating anonymous tips...anybody reporting corruption has to be exposed for targeting.
(C) prohibits them from sharing investigations and conclusions with the public without the say so of the GOP leaders in Congress.

The committee was created in response to the Jack Abramoff scandal for those old enough to remember that cluster-eff of corruption..people actually went to jail back then.

Draining the swamp?.................

a reply to: Indigo5

Draining the swamp?.................

This has nothing to do with Trump.

Trump has a pen...And a comb.


OP: It's a big damn swap.

a reply to: Indigo5

Let the Plundering Begin!!!

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Indigo5

Draining the swamp?.................

This has nothing to do with Trump.

So...This week Trump is not a Republican?

Cuz he sure sounds like he is in full harmony with the GOP in congress...

Gingrich Says Trump's No Longer Interested In 'Drain The Swamp'

“I’m told he now just disclaims that. He now says it was cute, but he doesn't want to use it anymore,” Gingrich said, referring to the phrase. “I'd written what I thought was a very cute tweet about ‘the alligators are complaining,’

talkingpointsmemo.com...

Corey Lewandowski Says ‘Drain The Swamp’ Is No Longer A Priority For Donald Trump

“If you had to put them in a chronological order, drain the swamp is probably somewhere down at the bottom,” Lewandowski said of the refrain on “Fox & Friends,”

www.huffingtonpost.com...

a reply to: Indigo5

How many campaign promises will it take for him to break for the trumpies to actually question him?.
Drain the swamp...nope.
Lock her up...nope.
Build the wall will be the next one.

originally posted by: Indigo5

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Indigo5

Draining the swamp?.................

This has nothing to do with Trump.

So...This week Trump is not a Republican?

Cuz he sure sounds like he is in full harmony with the GOP in congress...

Gingrich Says Trump's No Longer Interested In 'Drain The Swamp'

“I’m told he now just disclaims that. He now says it was cute, but he doesn't want to use it anymore,” Gingrich said, referring to the phrase. “I'd written what I thought was a very cute tweet about ‘the alligators are complaining,’

talkingpointsmemo.com...

Corey Lewandowski Says ‘Drain The Swamp’ Is No Longer A Priority For Donald Trump

“If you had to put them in a chronological order, drain the swamp is probably somewhere down at the bottom,” Lewandowski said of the refrain on “Fox & Friends,”

www.huffingtonpost.com...

Gingrich and Lewandowski have both backed off that and reversed their statements
Where ya been ? Under a rock ?
And no , this has nothing to do with Trump as Trump is still President Elect

Showing much fear and ignorance .

a reply to: Indigo5

CNN, got it....

It's not like they were doing much anyway...how much worse can it get in a country that has already effectively legalized political bribes & regularly votes in politicians that still have ties to the industries they're supposed to be regulating

The state of secrets just got more secret.

originally posted by: testingtesting
a reply to: Indigo5

How many campaign promises will it take for him to break for the trumpies to actually question him?.
Drain the swamp...nope.
Lock her up...nope.
Build the wall will be the next one.

You forgot repeal Obamacare. Apprently he is keeping most of it.


Hope and change

the OCE sounds like a waste of money to me, they have no power to do anything. That`s why we have police and the FBI,if someone breaks the law let them deal with it.
unethical doesn`t mean illegal so there is nothing that can be done to someone for unethical actions.
The Hillary state department didn`t have an inspector general and they did all kinds of unethical stuff (and some criminal stuff) when some of that unethical stuff was discovered nothing happened to anyone.

Why waste money pulling skeletons out of people`s closests if nothing can be done about it anyway.

Republicans, democrats, the corruption runs deep. Only a handful of politicians at the national level that I think arent corrupt.

In practice, it probably wont change anything. When was the last time anyone heard of this ethics group stopping anything? Never right.

a reply to: testingtesting

Of course this OP is academic...Searching for conservatives on ATS that hold to principles when they are inconvenient? Better off believing in bigfoot.

Give this OP two more pages and you will have conservatives explaining how it is somehow more virtuous when a GOP member of congress takes a bribe than a Democrat and since they won they have earned the spoils of corruption.

"Drain the Swamp"?..It was just for chumps...Trump knew it...his voters knew it...The GOP in congress obviously knew it.

The GOP in congress? Of course it's happy days in "The Swamp"...a man was able to settle a civil racketeering suit defrauding people for millions of dollars from a "University" that was legally declared a fraud and just weeks before the election...and damn if their base didn't elect him President anyways...Really??...It's open shop for $$$$ in congress..
AND No One to stop them...Both houses and the WH theirs..

Well there was that pesky Independent Ethics committee some conservative joker thought up a decade ago ...but they took care of that.

originally posted by: mOjOm
a reply to: Indigo5

Let the Plundering Begin!!!

begin? it never stopped.

a reply to: Indigo5

That could be good or bad. A good thing would be now the ethics committee will have no influence on laws. Why would that be good you might ask? You can ask yourself that question, and really think hard on the ethics in Washington D.C. when you answer it.

This will be a big advantage for the Republicans, but if they think they are going to go all haywire with crap, now they have to answer to Trump. If Trump opposes any view, of congress, you can bet we the people will know about it with Twitter. So he is talking to everyone, no matter what your political views are.

I really think he is at least trying to express an open dialog to inform the people. Just like he called out the Mayor of Chicago. He will at least tell us what is on his mind, to agree or disagree with.

I am still trying to think of why this is bad.

a reply to: Tardacus

Let the Plundering Continue then.....!!!

New and Improved. Now Without any oversight!!

a reply to: pirhanna

that my first thought also, how many people has this taxpayer funded committee actually caught doing unethical things?

even if they did catch people they have no power to do anything to them,this committee sounds like a very expensive taxpayer funded full time private investigator.

I trust Trump to drain the swamp and wait till he is in office and see him do it, or work against corruption in a big and visible way. Let the heads roll where they may...

If he doesn't keep his promises then vote against him in 4 years, it is that simple.

So far Gingrich has already made a few "oops" in regards to telling what Trump is going to do, or not do.

People who won't even wait till he is in office and able to do anything officially are being willing victims of anti-Trump propaganda.. Not like it hasn't already reared it's head...

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: Indigo5

Draining the swamp?.................

This has nothing to do with Trump.

It has to do with the fact that GOP members are corporate scum who believe money makes people above the law.

If you can grease a pocket, you should, unless it is a person in need.