AS THEIR first major initiative of the new year, Republican congressmen announced a scheme so crassly self-interested as to suggest they had learned nothing from the old one. Denizens of a reviled institution, and a party railroaded by Donald Trump’s populist insurgency, they planned to gut the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent investigative body designed to root out corruption. Less than 24 hours later, after a hail of condemnation, they turned tail; even so their bungling was damning.
The OCE was founded by the Democrats in 2008 after a run of scandals—including a big one concerning the Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff—highlighted the impunity with which some lawmakers were abusing their office in exchange for campaign contributions. The office is empowered and equipped to investigate allegations of impropriety. It may then report its findings to the House Ethics Committee and, even if that body decides to take no further action, publicise them. Anti-corruption campaigners consider it a bulwark against official corruption. Many congressmen consider it unjust and wasteful.
Several who have been subject to the...Continue reading
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