Ethics Office Recommends Probe of Congressmen in Financial Reform Matter

Two Republican lawmakers and one Democrat could face a House ethics investigation over complaints about fundraising events they held in close proximity to votes on a Wall Street financial reform bill last year.

The independent Office of Congressional Ethics found enough evidence of wrongdoing in the cases of Reps. John Campbell (R-Calif.), Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Tom Price (R-Ga.) to recommend the matter for a formal investigation, the
New York Times reported Tuesday. The preliminary probe focused on House members who raised money from lobbyists or executives opposed to the overhaul of government oversight of investment banks and financial houses when the bill came to a vote in December 2009.

Each of the congressmen criticized the ethics office's recommendation. Crowley, who attended a fundraising event at the home of a lobbyist the same night that he voted against a series of amendments requiring more openness in certain Wall Street trades, "complied with the letter and spirit of all rules regarding fundraising and standards of conduct," his office said.

Crowley, who is in his sixth term, eventually voted for the reform legislation, while Campbell and Price voted against it. Price said in a statement that it was "truly a mystery" to him how the ethics office arrived at its recommendation. "There being no evidence of any wrongdoing or any inconsistency in my policy position, one can only guess as to the motive behind their decision or even why they chose to initiative a review in the first place."

The case now goes to the bipartisan Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The group generally meets in secret and it could be months before it makes a public utterance about any findings. As always, the challenge is the difficulty of proving a quid pro quo -- directly linking the acceptance of a contribution to a specific act by a lawmaker.

The ethics office recommended dismissing investigations of five other House members: Reps. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), Christopher Lee (R-N.Y.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) and Melvin Watt (D-N.C.).