01012012 a broken ethics process.short

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TheCongressional

Ethics process

a case study on itsineffectiveness


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The Rules

Article I, Section 5 of the United StatesConstitution provides that "Each House [of

Congress] may determine the Rules of itsproceedings, punish its members for disorderlybehavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." The processes forexpulsion differ somewhat between the House ofRepresentatives and the Senate.


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The rules

There are a series of rules that supposedly governthe conduct of members of Congress.

House Rules that limit the gifts that members ofCongress may accept in calendar year 2009 to $335.

Federal law (Ethics in Government Act) that requiresmembers of Congress file an annual FinancialDisclosure Form.

Requires reporting of gifts and loans received bymembers of Congress in preceding calendar yearwhether or not they exceed the gift limit.

The filing of a false Annual Financial Disclosure form isa felony violation of the Federal False StatementsAccountability Act.


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The procedure

The consequence of a successful ethicsinvestigation and prosecution can be any of

Dismissal of the charges Formal reprimand by the House

Formal censure by the House

Expulsion from the House

The last member to be expelled from the U.S.

House of Representatives was James Traficant in2002


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The record (expulsion)

In modern history, only two House members havebeen expelled:

Michael Myers, expelled in conjunction with takingbribes during the Abscam investigation

In 2002, James Traficant was expelled after felonyconvictions of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion

No Senators have been expelled in the 20th or 21

century


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The Record (Censure) A Censure is a Congressional Procedure for reprimanding

the President, a Member of Congress or a Judge.

The U.S. House has censured five members since 1966: December 2010, Charles B. Rangel (breaking 11 separate

congressional rules related to his personal finances and hisfundraising efforts for a New York college)

1983, Daniel Crane, Sexual misconduct with CongressionalPages

1983, Gerry Studds, Sexual Misconduct with Congresisonal

Pages 1980, Charles Wilson, Improper Use of Campaign Funds

1979, Charles Diggs, Payroll fraud and mail fraud


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The Record (Reprimand)

Reprimand is seen as a lesser form of reproval inthe House

2009, Joe Wilson for his you lie outburst whenPresident Obama spoke to Congress

1997, Newt Gingrich, use of tax exempt organizationfor political purposes and lying to House EthicsCommittee

1990, Barney Frank for using office to fix parkingtickets and influence probation officer

1987, Austin Murphy, allowing another peson to casthis vote

1984, George Hansen, False statements on financialdisclosure form


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The Record

As this presentation shows using the case of JeanSchmidt, there is utterly no consequence to the

most outrageous, significant blatant violation ofHouse Rules or Federal law requiring thedisclosure of financial affairs.

Thus, the House has little more than an illusion ofan ethics process that is not only intentionally

toothless, it is designed to whitewash even themost outrageous conduct of members ofCongress, with only a very few exceptions.


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The case of Jean Schmidt

Acceptance of third party payment of legal feesof a member of Congress is clearly a gift

Any gift over $335 is impermissible AND must bedisclosed disclosed on the members AnnualFinancial Disclosure form

From December 2008 through April of 2011, Jean

Schmidt accepted approximately $498,587 inthird party payments of her legal fees by theTurkish Coalition of America


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The case of Jean Schmidt

Jean Schmidt failed to disclose the gifts ofhundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees on

her 2008, 2009, or 2010 Financial Disclosure Forms

She thus committed three felonies for her failureto disclose the gift

She violated House Rules by accepting the gifts


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What happenedSchmidt v. Krikorian

In the closing days of the 2008 campaign, DavidKrikorian published certain statements about

Jean Schmidts relation to the Turkishgovernment, the Turkish lobby and a matterbefore Congress, being the Armenian GenocideResolution that the Turks vigorously opposed

The Turkish Coalition of America approached

Schmidt after the election and told her theywould represent her in pursuing David Krikorianand pay her legal fees for her

We have this under oath from her attorney


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Schmidt knew who was paying her

legal feesIn December of 2008, Bruce Fein met with Jean Schmidt and told her theTurkish Coalition of America was going to pay her considerable legal feesarising from these proceedings:


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KrikorianCounsel

Krikorianwasrepresentedby ChrisFinney and

celebrityattorneyMarkGeragos


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Schmidt counsel

Schmidtrepresented by

team ofattorneysfunded by TCA,Bruce Fein and

David Saltzmanof D.C. andDonald Brey ofColumbus


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What happenedJean Schmidt Ethics case

Through 2009, Schmidt pursued Krikorian

Celebrity attorney Mark Geragos and localattorney Chris Finney represented Krikorian

There were depositions in the District ofColumbia, Cincinnati, and Columbus

Two days of trial

We knew hundreds of thousands of dollars inlegal fees were incurred. We knew the TCA waspaying these legal fees


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In June of 2010, Jean SchmidtsCalendar year 2009 Financial Disclosure

Form was filed

She categorically stated she received nogifts, and had no outstandingindebtedness

Thus, she lied about who was paying herlegal fees and that she had received agift worth hundreds of thousands ofdollars


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What happenedJean Schmidt Ethics case On July 13, 2010, David Krikorian filed a Complaint

with the Office of Congressional Ethics, the citizenscommittee complaining of the illegal gift

On May 18, 2011, the OCE reported to the HouseEthics Committee their findings that in fact the TCAwas impermissibly paying her legal fees

Schmidt received a copy that same day

On May 27, 2011, Schmidt wrote to the House EthicsCommittee saying she first learned who was payingher legal fees when Krikorian filed his Complaint inJuly of 2010


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Schmidt admitted she knewwho was paying her lawyers

Excepts from Schmidt letter to the HouseEthics Committee dated May 27, 2011

referencing Complaint and media reportsfrom July of 2010

I would have learned of allegations thatTCA was paying TALDF lawyers for my

case directly at the same time and in thesame manner as the Committee throughpress reports and allegations set forth bythe Defendant in the Ohio cases.

-- Jean Schmidt


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On June 14, 2011, fewer than three weeks afterJean Schmidt acknowledged in writing that she

now knew who was paying her legal fees, shefiled her Calendar Year 2010 Financial DisclosureForm with the House Clerk

Again, she claimed no gifts and no outstandingindebtedness

Thus for a third time, and this time irrefutably, shelied on her Financial Disclosure Form, a felonyand a violation of House Rules


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She lied about loan sheclaimed two weeks earlier


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The Office of Congressional Ethics found thatJean Schmidt had knowingly accepted an illegal

gift of nearly $500,000 and referred the matter forfurther action to the House Ethics Committee


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Inexplicably, the House Ethics Committee foundthat while Jean Schmidt had accepted an

impermissible gift, she did not know of the gift,and thus did not violate House Rules

No one from the OCE or the House EthicsCommittee ever called Krikorian or his counsel toinvestigate the claims or defenses

But they did order her to do certain things toremedy the situation


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House Ethics Cttee OrderedSchmidt on 8/45/11 to:

Amend her 09 & 10 Disclosure Forms toshow $500,000 in impermissible gifts

To immediately to repay ~$40,000 ofillegal gifts from her personal funds

To repay remaining $460,000 in

impermissible gifts

To re-pay the $460,000 when funds areavailable from a permissible source


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As of December 31, 2011, four and a half monthslater, Schmidt has done nothing she was ordered

to do She has not amended her false financial disclosure

forms to show the impermissible gifts

She has not repaid the ~$40,000 that she wasordered to re-pay immediately

She has set up the Legal Expense Fund, and hasraised a total of $10 in it


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CREW has named Jean Schmidt one of the 14most corrupt members of Congress


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CREW has filed a supplemental complaint withthe OCE claiming (correctly) that Jean Schmidt

lied when she told the House Ethics Committeethat she did not know who was paying her legalfees.

CREW also asked that the FBI investigate her forlying to the House Ethics Committee and filing

false Financial Disclosure Forms, felonies

This is irrefutable as to her 2010 FinancialDisclosure Form filed in June of 2011.


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To date, three full year after the illegal conductcommenced:

No one will take any enforcement action against her

She has thumbed her nose at the regulators, refusingto comply with their clear orders


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Once can reasonably conclude with respect tothe Congressional ethics process, that it is entirely

toothless, and in facts exists to exonerate andwhitewash the bad acts of members of Congress

The other agencies that would lock any of us upfor similar behaviors, the U.S. Attorney, the FBI, theIRS, the FEC have a hands off attitude towards

members of Congress

Thus, they may undertake the most outrageousacts with impunity


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Congressional EthicsWhat you can do

Demand local newspapers cover misdeeds ofyour member of Congress

Write letters to the editor and blog entries on thetopic

Write to your Congressman demanding integrityin the Congressional ethics process

Write to members of the House Ethics Committeeto show you know of their toothless enforcementand demand more integrity in the process

01012012 a broken ethics process.short

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