Prosecutors: The People.
Defendents: Congress.
Exhibit 1: Letitia White, former receptionist who rose through the ranks of Rep. Jerry Lewis' (R-CA) office to become his top defense aide. Ms. White left Lewis' office in 2003 and now works as a lobbyist, earning upwards of $3.5 million in two years.
Exhibit 2: Earmarks. Lobbyists direct their clients to donate to certain lawmakers. Those lawmakers then, coincidentally, earmark funds for projects beneficial to those clients.
Argument for the Prosecution: An editorial from USA Today. The editorial makes the case that White's access to her former boss Lewis, who now chairs the House Appropriations Committee (nicknamed by Jack Abramoff the "favor factory"), is just one example of the revolving door interplay between Congressional offices and the lobbying industry.
A spokesman for White says there is no reason to single her out from among the many Appropriations Committee staffers who become lobbyists, lobby their former committee and find financial rewards.
That is precisely the problem.
Argument for the Defense: An opposing op-ed by Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA). Rep. Bilbray co-sponsored just-passed legislation that requires legislators to disclose the earmarks they make, whereas before they were made in secrecy.
This is the first step of many in what must be an ongoing commitment from this Congress to blow away the fog of anonymity that surrounds our governing process. If we are to make a profound and lasting change in how this institution handles the taxpayers' dollars, then we must be willing to adopt changes that will enable us to be better stewards and more responsible to the taxpayers.
Cross-examination by the Prosecution: The USA Today editorial board, on Rep. Bilbray's legislation:
Wow. It took nearly nine months for the House to make members do what they should have been doing all along. And even this rule is riddled with loopholes: It doesn't apply to 10 spending bills already passed by the House this year. Nor does it do anything to lock the revolving door that allows people like White to get rich selling access to the people they used to work for.
Have I made the friggin' case yet?
Verdict: Guilty on all counts of neglect of the public interest, disregard for the spirit of reform, and putting their own interests and those of lobbyists and rich donors before those of their constituents.
Cross-posted at Common Blog.