Black Caucus Tries to Squash Office of Congressional Ethics

Most ethical Congress ever? At least Nasty Pelousy has a sense of humor. Here‘s her ethical Congress in action:

Stung by a series of inquiries, nearly half the members of the Congressional Black Caucus want to scale back the aggressive ethics procedures that Democrats trumpeted after gaining control of Congress.

Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, and 19 fellow black lawmakers in the all-Democratic caucus quietly introduced a resolution last week that would restrict the powers of the new independent Office of Congressional Ethics. The office, formed by Congress in 2008, is run by a panel of private citizens.

Sponsors include the Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee (D-CA). Here’s why her crew wants the OCE shut down:

Since its inception, the ethics office has investigated at least eight black caucus members, including veteran Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., and five others in that group over privately funded trips to the Caribbean.

The new proposal would create a still comfier climate for corrupt Congresscritters by making it

harder for the ethics office to initiate investigations, requiring a sworn complaint from a citizen claiming personal knowledge of an alleged violation. That could prevent complaints from watchdog groups, for example.

It would prevent the standards committee from taking a referral from the ethics office within 60 days before an election in which the subject of the case is a candidate.

We wouldn’t want to embarrass our Most Ethical Congress Ever right before an election, would we? But the aptly named Fudge and friends shouldn’t have bothered; the ghetto-dwelling constituents of crooks like Charlie Rangel couldn’t care less how corrupt they are, so long as they keep the flow of other people’s money gushing.

On a tip from Conan. Cross-posted at Moonbattery.

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