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The House Ethics Committee has unanimously concluded that House member, California Democrat Laura Richardson, was found to have "violated" the law and was fined $10,000 for misconduct.
Richardson, who is seeking another term in November, was accused of pressuring staffers to work for her campaign. The committee said it had "substantial reason to believe that Representative Laura Richardson violated the Purpose Law...." This will trigger a floor vote to sanction her.
As part of an agreement with the committee, Richardson admitted to all seven counts of allegations against her.
The Ethics Committee established an investigative subcommittee in November of last year to investigate her use of official staff for campaign purposes, which is against House rules. Staffers in many offices leave the congressional office to work for campaigns, but working for both is not permitted.
The committee said in a statement that she was "improperly using House resources for campaign, personal, and nonofficial purposes; by requiring or compelling her official staff to perform campaign work."
The committee also found she obstructed the investigation by the Ethics Committee through "the alteration or destruction of evidence, the deliberate failure to produce documents responsive to requests for information and a subpoena, and attempting to influence the testimony of witnesses."
The fine must be paid no later than Dec. 1, 2012. The committee also strongly discouraged Richardson from permitting any of her official staff to perform work on her campaign -- either on a paid or volunteer basis.
Leave a Comment:
Anyone who violates ethics should be banned from congress or any elected office...regardless of party. You can't clean up the corruption and criminals until you get them out of office.
And it must start at the WH!
agreed. any ethics infraction = no chance at reelection and no post office benefits. Major ethics = instant termination, immediate termination of pay and all benefits.
GT-2021701
This administration is the most corrupt in recent history.
Thats it redsux, Lets blame Obama! Christ, next thing you know, you idiots will want to see his birth certificate.....
Is this not a TOS violation...oh I'm sorry, libs are allowed to throw dirt, not conservative scum, correct?
I'd like to see this committee grow a pair and start going after the real problems being: taking bribes, letting the lobbyist run the government and insider trading. This is definitely a start, but we need an outside agency working on behalf of "the people" to make sure this government is actually run "for the people".
I agree! But we don't need another agency, we need to ban the things that screw us the most.
No loopholes or subsidies would dry up the big money!
Why is violated in quotation marks in the headline? Is this just another way for NBC to try and minimize the offense? I'm sure if it had been a Republican it would not have been questioned.
Job1
Liberal FACTS don't account to much of anything. The FACTS have been twisted to support the ignorance of the liberals. You wouldn't know a real FACT and TRUTH if it hit you square in the face.You have ignored the FACT that Obama is nothing but a SOCIALIST puppet for George Soros and Warren Buffett. "Ignorance is Bliss" for the lefties!
Do you have any facts or data to support your claim of these "facts"? What are the facts that prove he is a socialist? What facts do you have to show he does what Soros and Buffet want? I doubt they'd like that his is a socialist.
If you new how to read and study past history, you would see that the more people dependent on the government, the more power government gets. Obama has done absolutely nothing to help the economy or Free Enterprise. He is sabotaging our country for his own agenda. Try reading about Germany and Russia. Governments pick what companies they want and force out the others. Obama who is also a millionaire, wants only the rich and poor. No middle class. We will be dependent on the government just like the people on Welfare now, which has tripled under Obama. Who do you think is paying money into the government? Government has no means of making a profit or paying the taxes. Obama has increased the regulations and taxes on companies, which pay taxes for your free entitlements. If he didn't outsource for GM and GE 100,000 jobs over seas and helped America build business we wouldn't be in this delimma. He has done everything in his power to destroy Capitalism in America. Liberals believe in Socialism and Communism, try reading your history.
If you look at Romney, he is a thief and a liar, ask the people from Missouri, that he took their retirement funds and put it in his own pocket. Remember we are the little people. This man is a Reagan Republican, one of the worst Presidents in our history.
If he's a Reagan republican then I definitely have to vote for him. I remember Reagan's 8 years, did real well during them too. Would love to see a repeat of that. Beat's the hell out of 3+ years under obama.
cs
guess you are begging for the 18% mortgage rates, eh?
Liberals don't care for Reagan or Bush, due to the fact they had to WORK for their own survival. Where as with Obama they can lay back and have the rest of us earn their keep by paying the taxes. Lazy liberals are totally IRRESPONSIBLE like their messiah, Barry!
LADY JAG
One again another no common sense, immoral liberal, talking her trash. Liberalism is an illness. A mental disorder. Use your Obamacare to have someone look at that for you before we can't afford health insurance.
This is where their focus is? I am sorry she did not circumvent the rules properly and have her staffers "volunteer" to work on her campaign, but this is not what I want Congress focused on right now. We are losing billions an hour, the $10K fine is not going to help that.
The fine is a joke, she probably received $40,000 worth of taxpayer funded employment for a $10,000 fine.
Interesting' where was this ethics committee when politicians were doing insider trading at Wall Street?
It is legal and ethical to them. Life is wonderful when you get to write the rules that govern you.
She breaks the law, obstructs the investigation, fails to respond to requests, AND attempts to influence witness testimony.
It sounds like she is practicing to be a republican.
Yet, she's a Democrat.
Like Rangel.
And Waters.
And Frank.
This just goes to show liberals that they are the party of corruption, as history has shown for over 60 years! Libs refuse to look at the obvious and what the Democrats have been doing all along. Playing on the liberal mentality. Blame the Republicans for what the Democrats truly are and not facing the facts.
Why did obama seal his records? Just heard that one is it true?
Because Obama is SO TRANSPARENT! Yea, Right!! Except to the liberals.
Regan was an idiot, and he had halfheimers when he was in office. He was the worst besides Jimmy carter, who really was the worst. But if any can vote for ROMmney, you apparently need to go on line and look for yourself what he did not the people that he made money from.
One can only hope he never makes it to the WHITE HOUSE.
At least OBAMA got bin Laden that was more than be said for REPUB. The would have liked to see him walk around in an orange jump suite. This time I am not voting for one Republoican.
They also should be tried each and every person in Congress for insider trading if not The wipe the slate clearn for Martha Stewart and anyone else charged with that crime.
The military got bin Laden, with intelligence put in place during the Bush administration.
Four years in office, and 'Obama got bin Laden' is the best you can say about Obama?
Obama is a total failure.
Bush lost Bin Laden in 2005 and admitted he had no idea where he was.
8 yrs in office and Bush said regarding Bin Laden "I give up"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGmnz5Ow-o
The shrub admitting he didn't know where Bin Laden was and didn't care.
Putting Bush and intelligence in the same sentence is a contradiction of works.
Reagan had more decency, knowledge and experience than you liberals have in your pinkie. All you people know how to do is complain. You are the problem instead of a part of the solution. Typical masses!
Was Reagan showing decency and knowledge when he abandoned the memories of the Brave Marines who died in Beirut?
Was it "decent" in your mind when Reagan coined the phrase "Cut and Run"?
Being a liberal I would think you would surely know an idiot, but you don't.(Look in the mirror). Reagan was one of the most distinguished, honest, upfront, accomplished LEADERS we have had. You liberals DO NOT COMPREHEND LOGIC or TRUTHFULNESS OR HONESTY. Liberals believe in Socialism and Communism and have NO IDEA what they are. Try reading and learning, even though you have had a socialist education and mentality.
Reagan was one of the most distinguished, honest, upfront, accomplished LEADERS we have had
He was just a second rate actor that couldn't remember much, I don't recall was his famous line. He even increased the debt limit the most since Kennedy, 18 times to be exact just to pay for his star wars program. Remember the Iran/Contra affair? Honest you say? He let Ollie Norht swing to save his own a$$.
Obama let the doctor that gave our military the location of Osama Bin laden go to jail, and REFUSED to let him and his family come to the United States for protection. Real decent guy that Obama!! The doctor was given 33 years in prison. Talk about Obama, What a low life.
Reagan - your distinguished leader dishonored the memory of 241 marines in Beirut by leaving without firing a shot...
"What a low life"!
Fuzzy
When you talk about Reagan being "honest and upfront"....did you forget about Iran-Contra?
Fuzzy
When you talk about Reagan being "honest and upfront" did you forget about Reagan not letting the Country know he was in the early stages of Alzheimers while still in office?
Fuzzy
When you talk about Reagan being "honest and upfront" did you forget he was an "adulterer"?
Liberals forget about Clinton and how he was an adulterer before he was Governor and then President. But at least Clinton was far superior compared to Obama, and was a LEADER even though he was a player.
cs, yeah I remember the Reagan years... avergaged 7% unemployement, 14% auto loans, 18% mortgages, 200+ Marines with no response, and another dozen two weeks later with no response, closed down the state institution systems (on the streets/on your own...), drugs for guns ("I don't recall...")
Yeah, I remember them wonder years...
If it was unethical to lie, the joint would be empty, just sayin'
This woman had to do something really terrible if the government accused one of thier own of ethics violations.
With what the Republicans handed over to the Democrats, they financially crippled our country. The Republoicans care no more for a person that works a 40 hour week, they care about 1% of the population. Thanks but no thanks, since Mr. Wright from Texas they have been the most repungant party in office that has ever been. We can only hope that enough Americans find out for themselves and when voting , they use their minds, and not vote for the party
If the Democrats are truly the party that is for the person working 40 hours a week...
are not they the ones doing a crappy job and should be fired?
Lady Jag,
The "1%" are the ones that produce the jobs. It would be great if all the small businesses, just closed up shop so you doorknobs could see where Obama the Community Organizer is leading us. Sadly, you lemmings don't think, you follow.
Dave, this is one of the lamest arguments the right has come up with. First of all, the "1%" does not produce jobs, consumers are the ones that make the jobs. If nobody is buying anything, there will be no jobs. And even if your specious arguments WERE true, where are the jobs? The "1%" have been getting all these tax breaks for years, due to this asnine stance, yet they seem totally unable to "produce" jobs. Talk about lemmings...perhaps YOU should try thinking and not just believing everything the right-wing media and the Republican tools tell you.
Job "producers"? That would be the middle class, not the wealthy you seem to worship.
The country was turned over to Obama with lower unemployment, lower Welfare, lower deficit. Obama has doubled and tripled all that is listed. He has No Leadership skills, No experience, No knowledge, habitual LIAR, Dishonest, Unpatriotic, Immoral, No character. Nothing good about Obama.
"Destruction of evidence" and "failure to produce".........sounds a lot like Eric Holder, doesn't it?
REPRINT FOR THE LIBERALS TO READ!
1) The Founding Fathers
were generally religious, gun-toting small government fanatics who were so far
to the Right that they'd make Ann Coulter look like Jimmy Carter.
2) The greatest evil this country has ever
committed isn't slavery; it's killing more than 50 million innocent children
via abortion.
3) Conservatives are much more compassionate
than liberals and all you have to do to prove it is look at all the studies showing that conservatives give more of their money to charity than liberals do.
4) When the Founding Fathers were actually
around, there were official state religions and the Bible was used as a
textbook in schools. The so-called "wall of separation between church and
state" has absolutely nothing to do with the Constitution and everything
to do with liberal hostility to Christianity.
5) The biggest problem with our economy today is
Barack Obama. His demonization of successful people, his driving up gas prices,
his regulatory overload and threats to increase taxes have terrified businesses
into hunkering down, refusing to spend money, and declining to hire new people.
Replacing him would do more than any government policy to spur economic growth.
6) Not only are conservatives more patriotic
than liberals, but most American liberals "love" America in about the
same way that a wife-beater loves his wife.
7) Out of every 100 cries of “Racism” you hear
these days, 99 are motivated by nothing other than politics.
8) Anyone paying income taxes is certainly
paying his “fair share" -- and then some -- compared to the people who pay
nothing.
9) You don't have a "right" to
anything that other people have to pay
to provide for you.
10) If we can ask people to present an ID to buy
alcohol, drive a car, or get on an airplane, then asking them to present
identification to vote is a no-brainer.
11) There's absolutely nothing that the
government does smarter, better, or more efficiently than the private market
with roughly equivalent resources.
12) The biggest problem with education in this
country is liberals. They fight vouchers, oppose merit pay, refuse to get rid
of terrible teachers, and bend over backwards to keep poor kids trapped in failing
schools.
13) Fascism, socialism, and communism are all
left-wing movements that have considerably more in common with modern
liberalism than modern conservatism.
14) The Democratic Party
was behind slavery, the KKK, and Jim Crow laws. It was also the party of
Margaret Sanger, George Wallace, and Bull Connor. It has ALWAYS been a racist
party. Even today, white liberals support Affirmative Action and racial
set-asides because they still believe black Americans are too inferior to go up
against whites on an even playing field.
15) A man with good morals who falls short and
becomes a hypocrite is still a far better man than a liberal who can never be
called a hypocrite because he has no morals at all.
16) The most dire threat to America's future and
prosperity in the last 150 years hasn't been the Nazis, the Soviets, or
Al-Qaeda;, it's the spending and overreach of our own government.
17) Greed isn't someone wanting to keep more of
what he earns; it's people demanding a greater share of money that someone else
earns.
18) Most of the time in American politics, the
liberal "victim" is really a bad guy who is absolutely delighted by
the opportunity to pretend to be "offended."
19) Jesus Christ was not a conservative, a
liberal, or a politician. He was also not a capitalist or a socialist. Still,
you can say this: Jesus drew sharp lines about what's right and wrong, he
wasn't tolerant of what the Bible categorizes as sinful behavior, and there's
absolutely no question that he would adamantly oppose abortion and gay
marriage.
20) When you demand that other people fund your
sexual escapades by buying your contraception, your sex life becomes their
business.
Delusional much...?
NO ACCOUNTING FOR LIBERAL COMMON SENSE. THERE AIN'T ANY!
I can handle truth - try posting something that remotely approaches it.
You CAN"T HANDLE IT!!! Because your name reflects your mentality and being.
Well, what do you know? Another democrat with a permanent lapse of judgment! Whoever votes for these people are complete fools.
Hahahaha...another demoRat got caught and you liberals are here trying to twist it around and completely turning a cheek to it! So typical of you disgusting hypocrites!
California is imploding anyways...
Not in its historically most conservative county, my parents moved to Orange County and their city has a 50% surplus.
The San Andreas Fault can do us all a huge favor and shake that hellhole into the Pacific abyss...starting with San Francisco!!!
while this circus is going on some oil executive decides cause of the drought we the people will have to suffer more money woes,who's bright idea was it to take a good food source and put it in our gas tanks if you going to moan then moan about what these bozos in power are doing to us right now today cause they think we are not watching them but some of the citizens are.
It is a shame near half this country are like loss sheep, following there messiah. Just like the liberals that followed Jim Jones. And we know what happened to the over 900 people, don't we? America is basically on the same path.
Fuzzy, why do you insist on making things up and rewriting history? Are you attempting to be funny, or are you really that misinformed?
I am quit informed and realistic. I see the writing on the wall. Its liberalism that is an illness, a mental disorder. Use your Obamacare before you can't afford it anymore. I think it covers Liberalism since that is a mental disorder.
PS All you have to do is look at the latest figures for Obama and Romney you idiot.
Typical LIBtard rhetoric...Okay DUMBocrats...show me Obama...oops, I mean Osama Bin Laden's body. Oh, that's right. It is supposedly at the bottom of the briny blue. The whole thing wrapped up nice and neatly and swept under the proverbial rug. How convenient. So what happened to Blowbama's promise to bring Bin Laden back alive? What happened to the military tribunals that he promised? How much did he pay off Seal Team 6 to keep quiet? Why were there no pictures, or TV coverage? There was PLENTY when Barack...oops I mean Saddam Hussein was captured (ALIVE)...Bin Laden was already dead and Mr. OBlame-a used the operation for political gain. The sheer gall and egotism of the man for taking all the credit for something that was purely staged. Amazing. So next time you LIBTARDS try playing the Bin Laden card...DON'T. You just end up looking stupider than you actually are.
Blowhards.
Interesting post...troubles with reality, or are you just trying to be humorous?
I like math, so let's do some.
I have no real figures, so this is totally an assumption. There were seven counts and some were for covering up, so say she used 5 employees. 20 hours a week for a couple of months at say $20 per hour. Using 8 weeks for the calculation you get $16,000 worth of taxpayer paid for labor for a $10,000 fine.
Must be nice to police yourself!
Fined? Get rid of her. Jeez. These people have to be held to a higher standard. Both sides of the aisle.
Wrong doing should and apparently has been punished, however, party affiliation doesn't have anything to do with being a bad actor. Repugs. got theirs and we have ours. Question, why is Joe Walsh not being held accountable for back child support?
Obama 2012
they consider themselves above the laws of the land but i doubt if people find out(enough of them)he wont survive the next election i'll say it again vote all of them out and start over except for obama.lifelong union and democrat male caucasian
Liberals shoot first and never ask questions. Not surprised that they do not back off even when the case is dismissed.
A Cook County judge has dismissed a child support suit against Congressman Joe Walsh now that his ex-wife say they are resolving the dispute on their own.