Lauren Victoria Burke
+ FollowLaura Richardson: Another Black Member Under Probe
(Special from Crewof42)
To the surprise of absolutely no one, the House Ethics Committee voted unanimously on November 3 to open up a full investigation of Rep. Laura Richardson.
For the second time in two years all the open House Ethics investigations are on Black members of Congress and the second time in two years Richardson has come under scrutiny. The first investigation turned up nothing. Currently all three open House Ethics investigations are on Black members with a fourth Black member, Rep. Greg Meeks, who may still be fully investigated. In 2009, all 8 investigations were on Black members.
In July 2011, the House Ethics Committee botched the case of Rep. Maxine Waters so badly that an outside counsel, attorney Billy Martin, was called in. Their credibility remains questionable since the same players remain on the GOP side led by Alabama Rep. Jo Bonner, who played a role in the Waters fiasco and is now the Committee’s Chair.
That Waters hasn’t sued the Committee is surprising to many who observe Congress closely.
In typical House Ethics fashion, the accusations against Richardson regarding her first case were loud – but, her exoneration was quiet. In keeping with their recent history, Ethics — once again — has multiple investigations of Black members going on at the same time (Richardson, Waters and Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.).
Virtually the same lineup on the GOP side that pushed the censure of the most powerful Black member of Congress since Adam Clayton Powell, Rep. Charlie Rangel, remains this Congress. Waters is the most senior Black female in Congress and second in seniority among Democrats on House Financial Services. Even though the Ethics Committee sports an even number of Democrats and Republicans the politics remain thick. Could it be pure coincidence that for the second time in two years all the open House Ethics cases are Black members and two of the most powerful and most senior members were investigated? Can anyone remember a time when there was less than two Black members of Congress being investigated at the same time?
At one point back in November 2009, POLITICO’s John Breshnahan wrote Racial disparity: All active ethics probes focus on black lawmakers. The first words of that story were:
”The House ethics committee is currently investigating seven African-American lawmakers — more than 15 percent of the total in the House. And an eighth black member, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), would be under investigation if the Justice Department hadn’t asked the committee to stand down. Not a single white lawmaker is currently the subject of a full-scale ethics committee probe.”
And what was the result of those eight investigations? Everyone was exonerated and cleared except Waters and Rangel — the two most senior and powerful. The Waters investigation was screwed up so badly (two lawyers fired for what sounded a lot like prosecutorial misconduct) many argued it should have been tossed. So that’s 1 of 8. Think of the money and time that went into those 7 investigations that yielded nothing.
Given the inordinate number of Ethics investigations on Black members someone has to ask: Is Ethics receiving more complaints on Black members than on White ones? There are 44 Black members of Congress out of 535 yet a disproportionate number of Black members are investigated only later to be exonerated. How many cases does Ethics take up vs. how many they pass on? How many complaints come in overall and from who? Of course, no one will ever learn the answers to these or any other questions about the House Ethics Committee or the Office of Congressional Ethics. The super secret Committees can conduct business using the taxpayers money yet are subject to zero oversight. When members of the Ethics Committee are asked basic questions on general non material issues they refuse answer. Given the recent history of the Ethics Committee it’s a good idea to reserve judgement regarding anyone they investigate Black or White, Republican or Democrat.
Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver was asked on November 4 if he believed bias against Black members was going on. ”I think percentage-wise African Americans appear to be brought before the Ethics Committee disproportionately but I think in this country and in this Congress we have to be very, very careful about declaring there is a conspiracy based on race,” CBC Chair Emanuel Cleaver said.
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4 Responses to Laura Richardson: Another Black Member Under Probe
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Lauren Victoria is right, the outsized scrutiny of African Americans on Capitol Hill is disproportionate and racially discriminatory. Laura Richardson clearly has crossed some lines she shouldn’t have, and is difficult to work for, but I don’t believe her conduct is criminal. Maxine Waters is another example. If we were to analyze every member serving on Banking and Financial Services related committee and scrutinized their legislative activity and fundraising, I know damn well we’d come up with more than they’ve got on Ms. Waters. The House Ethics process is a joke that one MUST acknowledge if you’re to be taken seriously.
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As I have you've worked on Capitol Hill. Do you believe your old boss is the only one to use staff for personal use? Picking up dry cleaning, errands? Ted Stevens had them mowing the lawn. Without speaking on the facts of this case — the odds are funny here. All the current investigations are on black members. In 2009 all 8 open investigation were on black mbrs. Who gets investigated and who doesn't? How many complaints does the Committee get and who is filing them? That's what I want to know — 44 mbs of 535 yet ALL the cases are black? It it was all women or all Latinos or all Delegates or all Californians wouldn't you notice?? READ: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29055.h…
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This is not a race issue. This is in direct response to complaints from eight members of her own staff, half of which are black. I am one of those staff members myself. She is using the race card as a distraction and to try to make an excuse for her behavior. The whole black community should rip her apart for trivializing all of the long struggles that have been had as an excuse for her to abuse the legitimacy of her office and her staff.