Time:
The Justice Department has a message for Congress: clean up your house or else we may have to do it for you. A senior federal law enforcement official told TIME that the paralyzed and often lax House ethics committee has created a vacuum that prosecutors won't hesitate to fill. The House's internal mechanism for keeping corruption in check is "broken," says the official.
Well it's about time. Remember that Dennis Hastert stripped the committee of its non-partisan nature back in March of 2005, when he removed the chairman of the committee, Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.), and three Republican members for having the temerity admonish the since-indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex) three times.
Let's hope the Justice Department is serious about its threat to step in, and not just "saber rattling" as one attorney contacted by TIME suggested.
(Via Think Progress)
Cross-posted at Dem Talking Points.