An Ethics Lesson in Black and White
Everything isn’t about race. Black congressmen under investigation by the House Ethics Committee charge they are being unfairly targeted because of their race. One Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) member even told Politico that black lawmakers make less money than their white peers, making them easy targets because they have less money to defend themselves.
Could it be these black lawmakers actions rose to suspicious levels and caught the Office of Congressional Ethics’ attention? Just because there are seven black lawmakers under full investigation by the ethics committee and not one white congressman doesn’t mean the committee is "out to get blacks.”
Politico reported Congressional Black Caucus members are outraged and wondering out loud if “someone is trying to set up members.” It’s interesting to note many Black Caucus members voted against the resolution to form the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent committee created in 2008 to probe complaints of improper behavior by members. This “no vote” doesn’t give the CBC a lot of moral high ground to stand on now that some of its members are under investigation. But before black lawmakers cry racism they should look at the facts.
There are nearly 30 lawmakers under investigation and many of them white, including John Murtha (D-PA) and Jim Moran (D-VA). Their investigation is looking into whether these members of the House Appropriations Committee received campaign contributions from PMA clients in exchange for their votes on millions of dollars in earmarks.
There are seven black members under full investigation:
Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) is being investigated for two separate incidents. One is for possible tax evasion where he failed to pay taxes on $75,000 in rental income for property he owns in the Dominican Republic. It was also discovered he initially omitted $600,000 in assets on his tax return and amended it in August. This doesn’t look good for the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee which oversees the IRS.
The second investigation focuses on a trip Rangel, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI), Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Del. Donna M. Christian-Christensen (U.S. Virgin Islands) took to St. Maarten in 2008. Their disclosure forms indicated the event was sponsored by a non-profit group but the National Legal and Policy Center, but a watchdog group found evidence indicating corporations may have sponsored the event. Under new ethics rules, members cannot accept trips paid for by corporations.
Maxine Waters (D-CA) is being investigated for helping arrange a 2008 Treasury meeting for OneUnited, a bank on which her husband was a board member. The bank ended up receiving $12 million in federal bailout money.
Laura Richardson (D-CA) is being investigated by the committee for claims she allegedly received preferential treatment from her bank when her home went into foreclosure.
Most of the seven black lawmakers under full investigation have “safe seats,” which they’ve held for seven terms or more. (Thompson is in his 9th term, Rangel his 20th term, Waters her 10th, Kilpatrick her 7th, Payne 11th, and Del. Christensen and 11th). They also hail from districts which include urban cities, where the liberal political machines are strong and spare no expense or muscle in protecting their candidates, including Detroit, New York, and Newark. Could it be these black lawmakers under investigation have grown so comfortable in their jobs, they think they can cut corners and take risks because they’re invincible? As someone pointed out to me, if you looked at the 15 most ethically challenged members of Congress 50 years ago, I bet they would come from the same districts. Instead of being black these congressmen would be Italian and Irish.
Crying wolf and using racism as an excuse for bad behavior only dilutes the allegation when lawmakers are faced with incidents which warrant and demand to be labeled as such. When Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) from the House Ways & Means Committee in 2006 it wasn’t because he was black, as members of the CBC declared at the time. It was because he was quite literally caught with his hand in the cookie jar, with $100,000 stashed in his freezer. In August of this year, he was convicted of corruption.
If lawmakers of any color don’t want to be investigated, they shouldn’t engage in what looks like unethical behavior. It’s that black and white.