Nancy Pelosi

Democrats Gleeful At Prospect Of Running Against Gingrich

Brian Beutler | December 5, 2011, 5:05AM

Newt Gingrich

There's no better illustration of how ecstatic Democrats are about Newt Gingrich leading the GOP primary pack than Nancy Pelosi's strategic silence.

Pelosi knows more about Gingrich than perhaps any other major national political figure. She was a senior Democrat when Gingrich was House Speaker, served on the ethics committee that investigated Gingrich for tax cheating and campaign finance violations, and even cut a 2008 ad with him on the importance of addressing global climate change.

But when TPM asked her to talk a bit about his recent ascent and the possibility that he'll be the GOP nominee, she mostly demurred.

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Ethics

Only In Washington: Ethics Questions Follow Ethics Chairman

Susan Crabtree | September 22, 2011, 6:06PM

Reps. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Rep. Jo Bonner's GOP primary challenger is trying to stir up some ethics trouble that could create more headaches for Bonner, the sitting chairman of the House Ethics Committee, not too far down the road.

Dean Young, a Republican candidate for Alabama's 1st district, this week brought up a series of conflicts-of-interest questions that have followed Bonner since a botched Ethics Committee investigation of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) last fall.

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Greg Meeks

House Ethics Orders Schmidt to Pay Back $500K In Improper Legal Fees

Susan Crabtree | August 5, 2011, 3:42PM

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) and Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH)

The House Ethics Committee has cleared Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY) of charges that he took out an inappropriate loan he received from a businessman but is still investigating whether he disclosed it properly.

Likewise, the panel exonerated Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) of any wrongdoing in accepting $500,000 in legal services from the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, a Turkish-American interest group, even though they found them to be improper gifts under House rules and are demanding she repay the attorneys. The committee also decided against pursuing an investigation into Rep. Luis Guiterrez' July 26 arrest during a immigration protest in front of the White House. Guiterrez paid a $100 fine for failing to obey a lawful order of a policeman.

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Maxine Waters

Waters To Ethics Panel: Dismiss Case -- Or Else

Susan Crabtree | July 18, 2011, 6:02PM

Reps. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Maxine Waters (D-CA)

An attorney for Rep. Maxine Waters' (D-CA) is calling on the Ethics Committee to dismiss immediately the charges against her in the wake of an unprecedented leak of secret internal committee documents providing a blow-by-blow account of the panel's alleged bungling of the case.

The scores of Ethics Committee e-mails and memos, reported by Politico Monday with links to the documents, paint a picture of a committee consumed by partisan dysfunction and accusations of professional misconduct surrounding Waters' case.

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Maxine Waters

Sinking Ship? Waters Seizes On Leaked Secret Ethics Committee Docs

Susan Crabtree | July 18, 2011, 10:56AM

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is contemplating her next move in response to a game-changing Ethics Committee leak of hundreds of documents detailing the alleged internal mishandling of her case.

Waters is expected to demand copies of the documents from the panel as early as today, a spokesman told TPM Monday morning after a report in Politico quoted internal Ethics Committee e-mails and memos that paint a picture of a committee consumed by partisan dysfunction and accusations of professional misconduct surrounding her case.

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Ethics

Pols Brace For Probes After House Ethics Panel Staffs Up

Susan Crabtree | June 28, 2011, 4:42PM

Reps. Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Maxine Waters (D-CA)

The House Ethics Committee has hired six new staffers, ending a nearly seven-month period when the panel suffered an exodus of aides and investigative functions were at a standstill, the House Ethics Committee said in a statement Tuesday.

The hirings complete the staff roster and come one month after the committee unanimously tapped Daniel Schwager, a former counsel for the Senate Ethics Committee, as its staff director.

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Ethics

Top Harry Reid Staffer Earned $1.2 Million From Comcast After Taking Senate Job

Benjy Sarlin | June 22, 2011, 1:46PM

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Majority Leader Harry Reid's chief of staff, David Krone, left a highly lucrative gig at Comcast before working for the Senator. As part of his exit from the company, he's collected $1.2 million in additional payment since taking his job with Reid.

The Wall Street Journal focused on Krone's payout as part of a broader look at outside income in Congressional aides, many of whom earn cash as part of deferred payments or pensions for previous high-income jobs. Krone's $1.2 million stem from a severance arrangement in which Comcast purchased his house at above-market value when he left to cover any losses he would have incurred in moving to take a job with the cable giant. When the house was resold by the company at a much lower price, Krone listed the difference as "condo reimbursement" in his financial disclosure forms.

Reid's office says everything is aboveboard and accounted for and that the Senate Ethics Committee had approved the payment. "As difficult as it would be for anybody to divulge their personal finances for all to see and critique," Krone told the WSJ, "I have fully complied with the financial-disclosure requirements."

A Comcast spokesman told the Journal that the company did not know Krone was leaving for a government job when they negotiated the deal, a decision that Reid's office said came well after Krone had already quit. The WSJ cited sources saying the company may have "wanted to make sure that he didn't harbor any ill will after leaving, given his connections." It did not list any instances where Comcast may have benefited from Krone's position.

Ethics rules allow aides to receive payments from the private sector if the cash is only for work they did before jumping to public service. On the Senate side, however, employees cannot work for individual committees if they have deferred payments coming. There are gray areas -- aides can still take top positions with aides who chair the same committees if they stay out of legislative areas related to their source of income.

Update: This story was updated to clarify the timing of Krone's departure from Comcast.

Anthony Weiner

Pelosi Calls For Ethics Investigation Of Weiner In Wake Of Sexting Scandal

Susan Crabtree | June 6, 2011, 6:34PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) quickly called for an ethics investigation of Rep. Anthony Weiner's (D-NY) sexting after Weiner held a lengthy press conference admitting to the extramarital online activity and lying to try to cover it up.

"I am deeply disappointed and saddened about this situation; for Anthony's wife, Huma, his family, his staff and his constituents," Pelosi said in an statement. "I am calling for an Ethics Committee investigation to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred."

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John Ensign

Senate Ethics Refers Ensign Case to DOJ, FEC

Susan Crabtree | May 12, 2011, 2:34PM

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)

The Senate Ethics Committee has uncovered extensive evidence that former Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and others broke U.S. law by trying to cover up an affair Ensign had with a campaign aide, the wife of one of his top Senate staffers.

The panel has forwarded the evidence of criminal activities to the Department of Justice for further investigation, which it is required to do in any investigation that turns up evidence of criminal wrongdoing, Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who chairs the ethics panel, and Johnny Isakson (R-GA), said in letters to the DOJ and FEC released Thursday along with a final report from a special prosecutor handling the case.

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Jean Schmidt

House Ethics Office Launches Six New Probes

Susan Crabtree | April 25, 2011, 5:24PM

Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH)

The House's independent ethics office launched six new investigations of lawmakers' potential ethical misbehavior in this first quarter of the year.

The Office of Congressional Ethics released its end-of-quarter report Monday as required by law, noting that it had commenced six preliminary reviews and five secondary reviews of allegations already under investigation. It also voted to terminate one review.

The office does not release the names of lawmakers under scrutiny, but the name of one of the lawmakers, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), leaked earlier this year.

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Ethics

'Non-Partisan' House Ethics Staffer Donated To RNC

Susan Crabtree | March 16, 2011, 5:00PM

The House and Senate Ethics Committees are supposed to be the two panels in Congress that operate, to the best of their ability, in a nonpartisan way. At least, that's what they say.

There are plenty of internal committee rules stating that all staff must be non-partisan and abide by rules barring them from engaging in political or partisan activity of any kind. But there is little proof, as TPM has discovered, that anyone is enforcing these rules.

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Ethics

Watchdogs: Ethics Committee In Turmoil Over Partisan Staff

Susan Crabtree | March 15, 2011, 6:00AM

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)

Government watchdogs are condemning a decision to allow a Republican office to become a safe haven for supposedly nonpartisan Ethics Committee staff, saying it's one of the leading reasons why the panel is so dysfunctional.

The House Ethics Committee, led by Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL), has virtually shut down amid partisan recriminations and staff sniping over last year's handling of the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). Last week TPM reported that at least one of the panel's attorneys who had been suspended for allegedly mishandling the case had soft-landed on the GOP side of the House Natural Resources Committee, run by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA).

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Ethics

One Mystery Solved: Suspended Ethics Attorney Finds Home With GOP

Susan Crabtree | March 11, 2011, 9:30AM

Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)

UPDATE: Rep. Doc Hastings, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee issued a release saying Kim is the first hire for the newly created Office of Oversight and Investigations, which will scrutinize the activities of the Department of Interior and "other agencies under the committee's purview."

One of the suspended attorneys at the center of the standoff between Republicans and Democrats on the House Ethics Committee has found a new gig on the House Natural Resources Committee.

Morgan Kim, who served as deputy chief of staff of the Ethics Committee in the last Congress and lead attorney on the case against Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), was recently hired by Republicans on the Natural Resources panel and is now working full-time there, two House aides confirmed for TPM Thursday.

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Ethics

In Limbo: Suspended Ethics Committee Attorneys Still On House Payroll

Susan Crabtree | February 25, 2011, 2:12PM

Rep. Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Last year was particularly rough for House Democrats as the messy public ethics spectacles involving prominent Democratic Reps. Charles Rangel (NY) and Maxine Waters (CA) played out for all the world to see right in the waning months before a difficult and ultimately devastating election for Democrats.

Now that Republicans are in charge of the House, watchdogs are scrutinizing their every move, waiting for signs that they're weakening the ethics standards or continuing Congress's long history of slow-walking ethics cases and its seeming inability to impose tough sanctions on those who break the rules.

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DCCC

DCCC Targets 19 Republicans Over Spending Cuts, Ethics Issues

Brian Beutler | January 31, 2011, 11:45AM

Rep. David Rivera (R-FL)

The DCCC is already targeting 19 Republicans from marginal districts with local radio ads.

For the most part, the ads criticize the members for supporting GOP spending cut proposals. But they're also going after a couple of members -- Reps. David Rivera (R-FL) and Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) -- who remain under ethical clouds.

"Did you know Congressman David Rivera is under criminal investigation for receiving secret payments from his mother's company?" says a narrator in the Rivera ad. "Tell Rivera to come clean so he can finally get to work for us."

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AK-SEN

Documents Show Joe Miller Admitted To Lying About Ethics Violations At AK Borough

Jillian Rayfield | October 26, 2010, 9:58PM

Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller (R)

Newly released documents from Joe Miller's time at the Fairbanks North Star Borough show that in 2008, the Alaska senatorial candidate admitted that he lied about committing ethics violations during his time as a part-time borough attorney.

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David Vitter

Exclusive: CREW To File Ethics Complaint Against Vitter Over Violent Aide

Brian Beutler | September 21, 2010, 12:45PM

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) hearing testimony from oil executives.

The Congressional watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) will file an official complaint against Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) tomorrow, urging Senate ethics investigators to probe several allegations of misconduct, TPM has learned.

All of the allegations relate to Vitter's professional relationship with Brent Furer, a former top aide who was arrested in January 2008 for assaulting his then girlfriend with a knife, but remained on Vitter's staff and working on women's issues until June of this year when he resigned.

CREW contends that Vitter misused official funds in two ways.

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Ethics

Boehner: Rangel And Waters Scandals Won't Have Major Election Impact

Brian Beutler | August 5, 2010, 6:17PM

House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

Republicans have been trying to extract as much political gain as possible from the ethical clouds surrounding Democrats Charlie Rangel (NY) and Maxine Waters (CA). But in an unexpected statement this afternoon, House Minority Leader John Boehner acknowledged it's not making much of a difference.

"It's a sad day for the House when members are charged with violating the rules of the House," Boehner told WHAS in Louisville, KY in an interview, "This is going to play itself out, but I don't expect it's going to have a big impact on the election."

Boehner was in Kentucky to help Republican Todd Lally defeat incumbent Democrat John Yarmuth.

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Ethics

Jujitsu! Dems Will Attempt To Turn Tables On GOP Over Ethics Scandals

Brian Beutler | August 5, 2010, 8:02AM

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

Republicans are doing their best to drag the entire Democratic party under the ethical cloud hanging over Reps. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and Maxine Waters (D-CA). That strategy makes many vulnerable House members wish the two would step aside or admit wrongdoing so the controversy would die. But Democrats are hoping that a bit of political jiujitsu can flip this attack on its head: they would like to show that Democrats are dealing with their ethically compromised members publicly, and officially while the GOP protects its own and keeps its sins private.

A top Democratic strategist tells TPMDC that Democrats plan to seize on two stories from the past year, suggesting that Republicans aren't free of their own ethical problems, but that they just deal with them behind closed doors.

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Ethics

GOP Hurt By Anti 'Swamp' Campaign In '06 Aims To Turn Tables In '10 With Rangel Charges

Christina Bellantoni | July 30, 2010, 1:19PM

Speaker Nancy Pelsoi, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

Prepare for Charlie Rangel to become a household name during the fall campaigns, political operatives from both parties are saying. The Republican plan for August, according to aides TPM spoke with this week, is to tie the party to Rangel and the fact he was charged with 13 violations yesterday. The GOP says it's only fair game, since the Democrats in 2006 ran on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's pledge to "drain the swamp" and tried to link all of the Republican candidates with disgraced former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX).

Republicans are tickled pink that a spotlight is shining on Rangel (D-NY) just as the campaign season kicks into high gear, and campaign operatives are advising GOP candidates across the country to try and nationalize his ethics charges and get Democrats to defend him. Vulnerable House Democrats are feeling the squeeze, and Republicans are digging up their 2006 statements accusing the GOP leadership of fostering a culture of corruption. The looming midterms are one reason House Democrats had been urging Rangel behind-the-scenes to cut a deal, and why Republicans are saying he missed his window.

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Ethics

Pelosi Punts On Gutting Ethics Office

Brian Beutler | June 18, 2010, 12:00PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Will House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stand up and defend her signature "drain the swamp" ethics initiative from members of her own party? Doesn't look like it.

At her weekly press conference yesterday, I asked Pelosi whether or not she supported a move led by Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus to significantly scale back the authority of the Office of Congressional Ethics. She punted.

"At the end of each Congress we review the rules and we will review the rules as we go forward," Pelosi said. "I think that the outside ethics group is important progress to be made as far as building public confidence in what happens in Washington, DC. I sympathize with the motivation that the congresswoman has for her letter but at this time this is not the time. We will deal with it in the regular order of business at the end of the session."

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Ethics

Nothing To See Here! Supporters Of Plan To Handcuff Ethics Panel Lay Low

Brian Beutler | June 8, 2010, 12:38PM

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH)

Independent watchdog groups remain up in arms about a new proposal to limit the powers of an ethic panel that oversees and investigates members of Congress. But they'll have to wait a bit longer to hear back from supporters of the plan, who have been largely silent

The watchdogs say that a resolution introduced last week by Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), and cosponsored by 19 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, would leave the Office of Congressional Ethics without any teeth: unable to initiate investigations on their own, and barred from considering most complaints filed by outside groups.

And, they say, there are conflict of interest issues as well. Many of the cosponsors of Fudge's legislation have been OCE targets. And the panel once faulted one of Fudge's top aides, Dawn Kelly Mobley, for facilitating an ethically questionable Carribean junket for CBC members several years ago, when she worked for Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Fudge insists she began working on her resolution before she knew Mobley was the target of an investigation.

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Ethics

House Dem Seeks To Restrict Ethics Panel That Targeted Her Top Aide

Brian Beutler | June 3, 2010, 2:56PM

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH)

If your chief of staff had been admonished by House Ethics investigators, would you think twice about sponsoring legislation to limit the reach of the Office of Congressional Ethics?

You might if you were Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH). Last year, following on an OCE investigation, the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct admonished Fudge's Chief of Staff Dawn Kelly Mobley for actions she undertook when she had a different boss--Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-OH), who died in 2008. Now Fudge, along with nearly 20 other members of the Congressional Black Caucus, are seeking to rewrite the rules that govern the OCE, to prevent the panel and other congressional investigators from releasing reports or making public statements about unresolved cases.

But according to Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the proposal is much farther reaching than that and she says Fudge and her supporters are trying to shield themselves and other members of Congress from oversight.

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PA-SEN

Obama: 'Nothing Improper' Happened With Sestak (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | May 27, 2010, 2:08PM

President Barack Obama and Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA)

President Obama told reporters this afternoon that the White House soon will release an official response to a claim the administration offered Rep. Joe Sestak a job in exchange for him dropping a primary challenge against Sen. Arlen Specter.

Sestak (D-PA) said this spring that he was offered a quid pro quo, but has refused to give any details despite repeated questions from the press since he defeated Specter in the May 18 primary. Obama was asked about the dust-up, which the GOP is using for political benefit, during a press conference today about the Gulf Coast oil spill.

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Ethics

WH Not Sweating Greg Craig's New Role Defending Goldman

Christina Bellantoni | April 20, 2010, 6:18PM

President Barack Obama and White House Counsel Gregory Craig

As far as the White House is concerned, it's case closed for Greg Craig's newest legal venture representing Goldman Sachs against the Securities and Exchange Commission. Administration spokesmen brushed aside questions about whether it was improper for Goldman to hire Craig, who served as Obama's chief counsel for nearly a year before leaving due to the handling of the Guantanamo Bay closure.

The president's ethics rules ban any former staffers from working on issues that may conflict for two years after they leave, and Craig falls squarely under that rule.

Reporters on Air Force One this afternoon asked deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton whether the move was a violation of the president's revolving door ethics policy. Burton said the White House wasn't consulted about the position and declined to offer any hints as to how Obama feels about Craig's project.

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Ethics

Boehner: I've Had To Have 'Serious Conversations' With My Members About Ethics

Brian Beutler | March 15, 2010, 2:58PM

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)

House Republicans are trying desperately to make an issue of the Democrats' handling of the Eric Massa fiasco--insinuating that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew more about the harassment allegations against Massa than she let on.

But if Republicans hope that they can make an issue of Pelosi's alleged failure to take the appropriate disciplinary steps against Eric Massa, they may have to confront some of their own lapses as well. Check out what House Minority Leader John Boehner said on MSNBC Friday morning.

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Ethics

Massa The Congressman -- Progressive Icon But Not Engaged With Colleagues

Christina Bellantoni | March 12, 2010, 3:12PM

Former Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

In the last few weeks we've learned a lot about former Rep. Eric Massa as he first said he was not seeking reelection due to a recurrence of cancer and then he formally resigned amid allegations he sexually harassed a male staffer. What's lesser known is what Massa was like as a lawmaker and House freshman.

Massa (D-NY) was elected in November 2008 with 51 percent of the vote, a rematch with Randy Kuhl (R) following his narrow loss in 2006. During his short time in office he sponsored nine bills, from the naming of a post office to new broadband regulations. Of those, two were minor amendments that were approved on a nearly unanimous votes.

The 50-year-old former Republican became in some cases a progressive icon, blasting Sen. Chuck Grassley's health care remarks as "treason" and complaining about Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.

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Earmarks

Ethics Groups Say Congress Should Go Further Than Proposed Earmark Ban

Christina Bellantoni | March 11, 2010, 6:17PM

Citizens Against Government Waste bring pigs and pig costumes to Washington D.C. to protest pork-barrel spending.

Government watchdog groups who draw a link between corruption and the special project budget requests known as earmarks say Congress "must do more." House Democrats announced yesterday a ban on directing budget funds to for-profit companies. House Republicans followed up with a decision they wouldn't request any earmarks at all, for one year.

The Democratic proposal would strike about $1.7 billion in requests, the House Appropriations committee estimates. The move has potentially large budget implications but hasn't been met with a partner promise in the Senate.

"It's a positive step forward in both cases. Those earmarks are ground zero for pay to play, and is clearly one of the major areas people are trying to turn thousands of dollars in campaign contributions into millions of dollars in taxpayer money in the form of earmarks," Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense said in an interview today.

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Ethics

Dems On GOP Ethics Charges: You Have Got To Be Joking

Brian Beutler | March 9, 2010, 12:42PM

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

Democrats have emerged with a new counterattack against the mounting GOP assault on Democratic ethics lapses, and it goes something like this: You've gotta be kidding me!

In the wake of a handful of Democratic scandals, Republicans are piling on, hoping to associate Democrats with the same stink that brought down the Republican majority: corruption. The GOP has tarred Democrats who accepted campaign money from Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), and continue to attack the Democratic leadership for what they call hypocrisy on ethics and transparency.

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NY-29

Massa To Resign Monday

Rachel Slajda | March 5, 2010, 3:31PM

Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY)

Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) announced today that he will resign, effective Monday at 5 p.m.

Massa, a freshman legislator, announced this week that he would not seek re-election, due to a cancer recurrence scare. The House ethics panel is also investigating Massa, reportedly for allegations of sexual harassment.

In a statement, Massa acknowledged the allegations for the first time.

"After I decided not to run again I was told, for the first time, that a member of my staff believed I had made statements that made him feel 'uncomfortable,'" he said.

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Eric Massa

Pelosi: I Didn't Know About Massa Allegations

Brian Beutler | March 4, 2010, 12:28PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

At her weekly press conference this morning, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that she had no prior knowledge of allegations that Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), harassed a junior staffer.

"I asked my staff, has there been any rumors [about this] before," Pelosi said. "There had been a rumor...nobody made a formal notification to our office that anything happened. A one, two, three person rumor that had been reported to Mr. Hoyer's office, and then reported to my staff, which they did not report to me, because you know what? This is rumor city."

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Ethics

Rep. Nadler Tells TPMDC Massa Allegations Came 'Out Of The Blue'

Brian Beutler | March 4, 2010, 11:24AM

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)

Rep. Jerrod Nadler (D-NY), told TPMDC today that accusations that he was taken by surprise by allegations that his New York co-delegate, Rep. Eric Massa, harassed a male staffer. He also said Massa's decision not to seek reelection came "out of the blue."

In an interview with me, Nadler (D-NY) said it came to his attention for the first time yesterday, but cautioned that the facts of the situation--which are still not publicly known--would affect how Congress should react.

"And by the way, I don't know the nature of the accusation. Was this an adult or a kid? Remember the situation we had a couple years ago with Foley was an intern--a page. Is the accusation--if it's a consensual sexual relationship with an adult, I'm not sure it's any of our business," Nadler said.

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Ethics

Rangel: I'm Stepping Down To Help Fellow Dems' Election Chances

Rachel Slajda | March 3, 2010, 2:54PM

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY)

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), who announced today that he will take a leave of absence from the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, told a group of reporters that he did so in order not to hurt his fellow Democrats' chances this November.

"I had told the speaker last year many months ago that if my issues were going to impede the election of the Democratic party, then I would be glad for her to entertain a leave of absence," Rangel said this afternoon.

"I think that if the Speaker accepts my request to take a leave of absence, politically, I think that that should take care of the political problems."

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Charlie Rangel

Pelosi Claims Rangel Didn't Violate House Rules

Rachel Slajda | February 26, 2010, 12:15PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters today that Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY), the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, did not violate House rules by accepting two trips to the Caribbean that were paid for by corporations.

But last night, the House Ethics Committee released an official report admonishing Rangel for taking the junkets and finding that he did, in fact, violate House rules.

"What I understand -- and I haven't seen the report ... [is] that he did not violate the rules of the House and I think that's an important statement," Pelosi said.

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Barack Obama

Gibbs: 'Nobody' In WH Aware Of Baucus' Girlfriend Issue

Christina Bellantoni | December 7, 2009, 2:36PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked to respond to the news Sen. Max Baucus recommended his girlfriend for a U.S. attorney post.

"Senator Baucus did not give us any information about those three names," Gibbs said.

"Nobody here was involved in it," Gibbs said, adding, "I don't mean anybody besides those who know Senator Baucus, I mean nobody."

The RNC called for an investigation, but there has been relatively little reaction as Baucus talks about health care most of today on the Senate floor.

White House

White House Releases Names Of Some Visitors From Last Nine Months

Christina Bellantoni | October 30, 2009, 4:48PM

White House

Who has bent President Obama's ear? Or huddled with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel?

The White House just posted nearly 500 records. Check it out here, and TPMDC will update readers as we go through the names.

Norm Eisen, special counsel to Obama on ethics, detailed the release in a blog post and said the 110 requests cover from January 20, 2009 to July 31, 2009.

Eisen writes:

There's an important lesson here as well. This unprecedented level of transparency can sometimes be confusing rather than providing clear information.

A lot of people visit the White House, up to 100,000 each month, with many of those folks coming to tour the buildings. Given this large amount of data, the records we are publishing today include a few "false positives" - names that make you think of a well-known person, but are actually someone else. In September, requests were submitted for the names of some famous or controversial figures (for example Michael Jordan, William Ayers, Michael Moore, Jeremiah Wright, Robert Kelly ("R. Kelly"), and Malik Shabazz). The well-known individuals with those names never actually came to the White House. Nevertheless, we were asked for those names and so we have included records for those individuals who were here and share the same names.

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