The problem was built into the system. Having members of a political and partisan body pass judgment on their colleagues has inherent conflicts. Fail to act when wrongdoing is apparent? The old-boy network is protecting its own, proving the corruption of politics. Take tough action or bring controversial charges? That can reflect partisan motives or revenge, or the ambitions of members of the ethics panel taking out rivals for power. Clouds of suspicion hang over the process.

Those conflicts are true in the best of times; even when the members of the ethics panel act together in good faith, skepticism is inevitable. But the years leading up to 2008 were anything but the best of times. First came the ethics wars, led by Newt Gingrich in the years leading up to 1994, using the ethics process for partisan leverage, criminalizing policy differences. After Gingrich became speaker, the backlash hit him directly, in a tit for tat.

Under Speaker Dennis Hastert and his henchman Tom DeLay, it got worse. The nadir came in 2004 when an honest ethics panel, chaired by conservative Republican Joel Hefley of Colorado did its duty and recommended sanctions against DeLay for unethical conduct. Hastert responded by firing Hefley and removing two standup Republican members, Kenny Hulshof of Missouri and the late Steve LaTourette of Ohio.

When Democrats recaptured the House in 2006, the new speaker, Nancy Pelosi, began a process to clean the House, choosing Massachusetts Democrat Michael Capuano to lead the effort via a bipartisan select panel. Through a lengthy, arduous process, with deep opposition from nearly all Republicans and real reluctance on the part of many Democrats, Capuano, working closely with me and Tom Mann and a small group of other reformers, pieced together a balanced plan that respected and preserved the constitutional requirement that the House be the judge of its own members, kept intact the ethics committee, but created a way to build larger credibility that the ethics process would be honest and fair whatever the political currents or partisan pressures. It was weaker than we had hoped—it had no subpoena power, even indirectly via the ethics committee—but it was still a major breakthrough.

The OCE would never have made it over the finish line if it were not for Pelosi (and the respect Capuano had among his colleagues.) But while it passed on a near-party line vote, it would have been neutered quickly if it were not for the willingness of Republican Leader John Boehner to pick strong members for the first office. It was the initial cast of members who kept OCE on course despite opposition from the members of the ethics committee and the wariness of a large group of lawmakers. David Skaggs and Porter Goss were the first leaders, and were exemplary, as were their colleagues, including other former members (Bill Frenzel and Ab Mikva, may they rest in peace, along with Yvonne Burke and Karan English, and two others who had deep experience around Congress, Jay Eagan and Allison Hayward.