Original article in POLITIC365
Two years ago in November 2009, all the House Ethics investigations were on black members of Congress. There have been 12 House Ethics investigations on black members over two years. All have been exonerated but one, with one other, Rep. Maxine Waters, pending.
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 (D-CA).
For the second time in two years all the open House Ethics investigations are on Black members of Congress. For the second time in two years Richardson has come under scrutiny. In typical House Ethics fashion, the accusations against Richardson regarding her first case were loud but her exoneration was quiet. Currently all three House Ethics investigations are on Black members with a fourth Black member, Rep. Greg Meeks, who may still be formally investigated. In 2009, all 8 investigations were on Black members. Blacks make up 10% of the House of Representatives and 8% of Congress, but now for the second time in two years, represent 100% of the House Ethics cases.
In July 2011, the House Ethics Committee botched the case of Rep. Maxine Waters so badly an outside counsel, attorney Billy Martin, was called in to finish the investigation. The same players remain on the GOP side of the Committee, led by Alabama Rep. Jo Bonner, who played a role in the Waters fiasco, Rep. Charlie Rangel's censure, and is now the Committee’s Chair. That Waters hasn’t sued the Committee is surprising to many who observe Congress closely.
That 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 Committee. Though the Ethics Committee sports an even number of Democrats and Republicans the politics remain thick. Can anyone remember a time when there was less than two Black members of Congress being investigated at the same time?
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 except Waters and Rangel — the two most senior and powerful. The Waters investigation was screwed up (two lawyers fired for what sounded a lot like prosecutorial misconduct) and many argued it should have been tossed. So that’s 1 of 8.
For anyone who wants to believe that Black members are more corrupt see the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and ask yourself: How are Reps. Vern Buchanan, Jean Schmidt and Frank Guinta escaping investigation?
Given the disproportionate number of Ethics investigations on Black members someone has to ask: Is Ethics receiving more complaints on Black members than on White ones? 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 Committee conducts business using the taxpayers money 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.