The Massachusetts State House was rocked by the indictment of a long-time State Senator last November.  In the wake of that controversy, the Governor proposed new ethics legislation today:

A governor's task force has recommended a sweeping overhaul of the state's lobbying and ethics laws, proposing a steep increase in penalties and a broad expansion of enforcement and investigative tools.

The report, which can be found here, suggests giving subpoena power to the office of the secretary of state, wiretapping authority to the attorney general, and significantly increasing the scope of the State Ethics Commission and giving it more teeth. The task force also proposed a change to the state conflict of interest law that would give the attorney general more latitude to prosecute corrupt officials.

At a press conference this afternoon, Governor Deval Patrick said he plans to file the reform bill on Wednesday, the first day of a new legislative session. Patrick urged lawmakers to act within 30 days and said he was optimistic that the measure would pass.

"No one can legislate morality, we all know that," Patrick said. "But we can assure ourselves and the public that the consequences for breaching the public trust will be serious, swift, and certain."

Massachusetts Inspector General Gregory W. Sullivan hailed the proposals as "extraordinary" after the press conference.

"I never thought I'd see this day," Sullivan said. "If this passes, I think it will be the most significant legislation since I've been inspector general by far."

The new session of Congress convenes today.  Via Glenn Thrush at Politico, we learn that new rules being enacted today insure the continuation of the lawsuits brought to compel testimony of top Bush administration officials, Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten.  CREW filed an amicus brief in support of the House Judiciary Committee's effort to compel that testimony: 

Republicans are up in arms about the Democrats' scrapping of committee term limits and rules changes that will weaken the minority's ability to block bills.

But our Patrick O'Connor points out that they ain't complaining (yet) about a lower-profile provision calling for the continuation of lawsuits against Bush administration officials Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten.

In May, the House Judiciary Committee, joined by a coalition of former U.S. attorneys, sued to enforce subpoenas requiring Miers and Bolten to testify about their actions in the hiring and firing of federal prosecutors. President Bush had instructed both to defy the call to appear.

On December 23, 2008, CREW's Melanie Sloan appeared on NBC News to discuss the investigation of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and explained the concept of "pay to play":

Today's Washington Post laid out what's known about the ongoing investigation in New Mexico, which resulted in Bill Richardson's decision to withdraw from consideration as Secretary of Commerce:

A grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into whether CDR Financial Products received a contract with the New Mexico Finance Authority because of pressure from Richardson or other state employees. CDR made $1.48 million advising the authority on interest-rate swaps and refinancing of funds related to $1.6 billion in transportation bonds, state officials confirmed.

The Beverly Hills-based firm and its president, David Rubin, together gave $100,000 to Sí Se Puede and Moving America Forward, both PACs started by Richardson, shortly before winning the lucrative state contract, records show.

The federal probe heated up considerably last month, just around the time Obama announced Richardson as his choice for commerce secretary, according to sources familiar with the investigation. New subpoenas were issued, and testimony was scheduled from officials at J.P. Morgan Chase who worked for the state with CDR and from the director of Richardson's political action committees.

CDR's selection drew FBI interest because the firm did not make an initial list of the most qualified bidders. The bidding was reopened for review, and a state committee headed by one of Richardson's former top aides later helped select CDR.

An ongoing investigation in New Mexico is at the root of Bill Richardson's decision to withdraw his name from consideration as Secretary of Commerce:

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, tapped in December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state.

"Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact," he said Sunday in a report by NBC News' Andrea Mitchell. "But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process."

Last fall, when ABC broke the story that Rep. Tim Mahoney was making payments to a former mistress, CREW demanded that the House Ethics Committee hold him accountable:

Rep. Mahoney engaged in a course of conduct demonstrating a stunning abuse of his elected position. He prioritized his extramarital affair over upholding the rules and laws he swore to obey. The House Ethics Committee must hold him accountable for his numerous transgressions. And of course, Rep. Mahoney is the worst sort of hypocrite, having won the seat on a moral values platform after the Foley scandal. But if hypocrisy alone was enough to merit an ethics investigation, the ethics committee would be running a 24 hour-a-day shop.

Needless to say, we're still waiting.

ABC now reports, however, that the FBI is conducting an investigation:

The FBI has begun questioning witnesses as part of its investigation in whether outgoing Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fla.) violated any laws in putting his former mistress on the congressional payroll, sources familiar with the probe tell ABCNews.com.

 

The sources say that the FBI is focusing whether Mahoney may have made false statements in hiring his then mistress, Patricia Allen, in his congressional office.

 

Exactly how many people the FBI has questioned is unclear, but agents, based in West Palm Beach, flew to Washington DC earlier this month to question people who have worked with Mahoney. They have also questioned people in Florida, but the probe does not appear to have reached the stage of a grand jury.

 

An FBI official could not be reached for comment.

 

 

Mahoney's attorney declined to comment but the congressman, who admitted to having multiple affairs, has said he did not violate any laws. "My personal behavior has been unacceptable." But, he said, "I haven't violated my oath of office. I haven't broken any laws."

CREW is on the record stating that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich should resign immediately.  He hasn't yet and is facing impeachment.

Today, despite the controversy swirling around him, Governor Blagojevich appointed a successor to Barack Obama.   Whether or not Roland Burris is seated remains to be scene.  Public officials in Washington, DC and Illinois have vowed to prevent the appointment:

The announcement is already engendering considerable opposition. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White said today he will not certify the appointment, and U.S. Senate Democratic leaders, in advance of the news conference, issued a statement opposing Burris's appointment and vowing to block it in the Senate.

"It is truly regrettable that despite requests from all 50 Democratic Senators and public officials throughout Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich would take the imprudent step of appointing someone to the United States Senate who would serve under a shadow and be plagued by questions of impropriety," said the statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Conference Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Conference Secretary Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).

"We say this without prejudice toward Roland Burris's ability, and we respect his years of public service. But this is not about Mr. Burris; it is about the integrity of a governor accused of attempting to sell this United States Senate seat. Under these circumstances, anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus."

Membership is dwindling on the House Ethics Committee.  Two of the three Democrats on the panel, Gene Green and Bobby Scott, will be leaving as will the ranking minority member, Doc Hastings.  As CREW has noted innumerable times, members of Congress will not police themselves.  And, the Ethics Committee is in the midst of an investigation involving Rep.Charles Rangel (D-NY), who chairs the powerful Ways and Means Committee.  Hard to clean up the swamp when no one will do the cleaning:

The mad dash out off the panel will take place at the end of this Congress in early January, the same time Pelosi said she expects the ethics panel to wrap up its investigation in the allegations piling up around Rangel.

The comment got Pelosi into some hot water with Republicans because the ethics committee’s activities are supposed to be secret and completely free from even the appearance of any outside interference.

Since her comments, the panel has expanded its Rangel probe to include new allegations.

If Delahunt is named chair, Pelosi must find other Democrats she can strong-arm into serving on the panel, which will continue to review any new allegations against Rangel, or the existing charges if the current committee does not finish its work and issue an initial report on its findings. Any choice Pelosi makes will be analyzed for any Rangel implications. If the member is African-American, that could be viewed as an attempt to help Rangel, even if Pelosi tries to sell it as a way to fill Tubbs Jones’ old post with another African American.

“This puts the Speaker in a very awkward position,” said Holman. “She does not want to get in the middle of defending or attacking Rangel.”

Melanie Sloan Responds to Obama’s Release of Staff Contacts with Gov. Blagojevich’s Office:

Today, President-elect Barack Obama released the contacts between his staff and embattled Governor Rod Blagojevich. We applaud his efforts and commend him for his continued commitment to transparency. In that vein, if and when other contacts between transition staff members and the governor's office surface, we encourage President-elect Obama to release that information in a timely fashion.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been aggressively pursuing public corruption.  Believing that the public has a "renewed awareness" of this issue in the wake of the scandal involving Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, the FBI office in Denver wants help from the public:

The Denver FBI wants to know whether government officials are engaged in criminal activities that violate the public's trust — such as awarding political favors in exchange for cash.

Agents want to take advantage of the public's renewed awareness of public corruption as the scandal surrounding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich — who has denied any wrongdoing — unfolds.

"We feel like the general public needs to be aware and realize there is an avenue where they can call and e-mail complaints of public corruption if they think something going on is not quite right," said Special Agent Kathleen Wright of the Denver FBI.

Last week, the Denver FBI set up a hotline and an e-mail address for tipsters in Colorado andWyoming to leave information if they believe a public official is committing a crime.

"We encourage people to send an e-mail or leave voice-mail information so we can have an agent recontact them if we need to know some more details about what they are reporting," Wright said.

CREW has a tipline, too.