Laura Richardson wonders whether the committee 'has engaged in discriminatory conduct.' Ethics to probe Laura Richardson

The House Ethics Committee has approved a full-scale investigation into allegations against Rep. Laura Richardson, rejecting the California Democrat’s efforts to head off the probe.

The decision is a serious blow to Richardson’s already troubled reelection chances in 2012. And it also likely to reignite the debate in some circles whether African-American lawmakers are targeted for ethical or criminal probes at a higher rate than their white counterparts. Richardson raised the race issue in a statement Friday, saying she would explore whether the Ethics Committee “has engaged in discriminatory conduct.”


Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), who serve on the full Ethics Committee, will head up the special four-member subcommittee overseeing the Richardson case. Reps. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) will also serve on the subcommittee.

Richardson and her top aides allegedly pressured other staffers to work on her reelection campaign or be fired, according to House sources and news reports. Staffers on the congressional payroll are prohibited from working on political campaigns while they are on the government clock.

In addition, under House ethics and federal law, government resources cannot be used for any campaign-related activities.

Ethics Committee investigators have been looking into the allegations against Richardson for more than a year, but the case only moved to the forefront of the secretive panel’s agenda in recent weeks. POLITICO reported earlier this week that Richardson had mounted an unsuccessful last-minute attempt to prevent a full investigation by writing to all 10 lawmakers on the Ethics Committee. The California Democrat offered to admit to a lesser offense, while at the same time threatening to expose what she believes is wrongdoing by some of her colleagues.

But the Ethics Committee - with Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), ranking member of the panel, abstaining - ignored Richardson’s pleas and voted on Thursday to create the investigative subcommittee.

Richardson then slammed the Ethics Committee’s action, and she threatened to drag other lawmakers into the dispute, including those who sleep in their offices. Some critics have claimed such a practice is a violation of the ethics rules forbidding personal use of government resources.

“We strongly believe that the Ethics Committee should operate in a manner that is fair, even-handed and equal to all members of the House of Representatives. For that reason, we argue that the committee has chosen to unjustly target its investigations concerning use of official House resources for political purposes on certain Members, while overlooking the well-publicized misuse of official House resources for personal purposes by numerous other Members of Congress, Richardson said in a statement. “Specifically, numerous members have used their House offices for personal lodging, in some cases for years, saving tens of thousands of dollars personally at taxpayers’ expense. Under House rules, personal use of House resources is as impermissible as political use. Accordingly, I will raise this issue with the Ethics Committee.”

Richardson also said that she would bring up the issue of whether black lawmakers are unfairly or disproportionately targeted for investigation.

“I also intend to explore the issue of whether the Ethics Committee has engaged in discriminatory conduct in pursuing two investigations against me while simultaneously failing to apply the same standards to or take the same actions against other members—of whom the overwhelming majority are white males,” Richardson added.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said in an interview that African-American lawmakers are concerned about whether their minority colleagues are being singled out for ethics or criminal cases, long a complaint within the CBC.

“It’s something that is discussed by more than CBC members,” Cleaver said. “There are a lot of people who say, ‘There seems to be a remarkable coincidence that a majority of the people pulled before the [Ethics Committee] are African-American.” Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Jesse Jackson, Jr., (D-Ill.) are all under investigation by the Ethics Committee at this time.

“It’s one of those situation where everybody has to be careful in discussing,” Cleaver added. “I’m not one to believe that all of the issues of race have been resolved in this country or in this Congress, but I will perhaps a little more cautious than some in saying that people are putting forth an effort to damage African-American members of Congress.”

Cleaver, though, denied rumors that he had urged Richardson to retire rather than seek reelection. Some Democrats have privately suggested that the Ethics Committee would have ended its investigation if Richardson, now in her third term, announced that she would not run again in 2012.

“I’m not gonna ask anyone to retire here,” Cleaver said. “It would be inappropriate for me to go tell somebody they ought to retire.”

Cleaver, a Methodist minister, said he often counsels lawmakers with personal problems, including former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) and Bill Jefferson (D-La.), who both went to prison for criminal acts committed while serving in the House.

“Those conversations are usually prayerful and spiritual,” Cleaver said of such discussions. “For good or bad, sometimes when members are having trouble, I end up being consulted.”