Misplaced Pages

#215784

62-516: The House Ethics Committee has often received criticism. In response to criticism, the House created the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), an independent non-partisan entity established to monitor ethical conduct in the House. The committee has an equal number of members from each party , unlike the rest of the committees, which are constituted with the majority of members and the committee chair coming from

124-524: A rehab clinic on October 2, 2006. His lawyer revealed that Foley claimed he was molested by a clergyman when he was between the ages of 13 and 15 adding that "Mark Foley wants you to know he is a gay man." Federal authorities said the explicit messages could result in Foley's prosecution, under some of the same laws he helped to enact. Foley resigned from the US Congress on Friday, September 29, 2006. There

186-584: A Dominican villa. On March 29, 2010, the OCE released a report dated January 28, 2010, that concluded Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) appeared to have improperly used his office staff to pressure Georgia officials to continue the exclusive, no-bid state vehicle inspection program that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for his family's auto salvage business, Gainesville Salvage & Disposal. The Ethics Committee never reported or commented on any investigation of Deal. On March 1, 2010, Deal resigned his seat saying he

248-425: A campus community when a student commits a violent crime. Foley worked to pass legislation to help surviving heirs of Holocaust victims who have been unable to collect on life insurance policies owed to them. On September 28, 2006, ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross reported that in 2005, Foley had sent email messages from his personal AOL account to a former Congressional page, asking

310-474: A history of inappropriate conduct by Foley dating back at least 10 years. Foley had been warned about the matter in 2005 by another House Republican and the House Clerk. Through his lawyer, Foley insisted he was not a pedophile and asserted that he had not "had contact" with a minor. Foley also explained that he had a drinking problem and had made the communications while intoxicated. He checked himself into

372-598: A number of victims' rights groups. President Bush signed it into law as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Foley also succeeded in getting a law passed that allows volunteer youth-serving organizations like the Boy Scouts of America and Boys and Girls Clubs to have access to FBI fingerprint background checks. Foley's stances on many social issues differ from his party's leadership. Although he professes to be Roman Catholic Foley

434-572: A request by the Republican leadership after allegations surfaced that he had sent suggestive emails, as well as sexually explicit instant messages , to teenage boys who had formerly served and were at that time serving as Congressional pages . As a result of the disclosures, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted investigations of

496-586: A statement in 2010, "keeping the public informed is a paramount responsibility for the OCE" and "providing information to the public, improving transparency, is a central element of the OCE's mission. The office's launch and first two years were led by Leo Wise, who prior to joining the OCE, earned top honors at the United States Department of Justice where he was a member of the Enron task force that successfully prosecuted Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling and

558-645: Is an American former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives . He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republican Party , before resigning due to revelations that he had sent sexually explicit messages to teenaged boys who had served as congressional pages in what came to be known as the Mark Foley scandal . Foley resigned from Congress on September 29, 2006, acting on

620-721: Is another tax. He did not invent the Internet but he sure did tax it." In late 2000, Foley played a large role in aiding George W. Bush during the Presidential election recount controversy in Florida . In 2006, Foley was a member of the Republican House leadership, serving as deputy whip . In 2003, Foley was widely considered the Republican front-runner for Bob Graham 's Senate seat, especially after Graham had announced his retirement . However, longstanding rumors surfaced that Foley

682-486: The National Journal ' s calculations, in 2005, Foley's voting record on social policy issues was moderate. Foley helped secure the first-ever financial commitment from Congress for the preservation of Florida's Everglades . Foley helped pass legislation that expedites the deportation of non-violent criminal aliens serving their sentences in federal prisons; and helped eliminate federal prohibitions on notifying

SECTION 10

#1732845260216

744-502: The House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children . He introduced a bill, coined the "Child Modeling Exploitation Prevention Act of 2002" to outlaw websites featuring sexually suggestive images of preteen children, saying that "these websites are nothing more than a fix for pedophiles ." As it was written, the bill would have prohibited commercial photography of children and it failed due to the unmanageable burden it would have presented to

806-544: The United States House Committee on Ethics . The OCE's mission is "to assist the House in upholding high standards of ethical conduct for its Members, officers, and staff and, in so doing, to serve the American people"; within that framework it strives to foster transparency by keeping the public informed of its activities. With its online presence, it aims to “give the public a 'window' into ethics enforcement in

868-586: The United States Navy Reserve . The OCE opened dozens of reviews, based on publicly available information, submissions from the public, press accounts and other sources of information. This included the multiple ethical and criminal violations stemming from, among others, disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff , and former representatives Duke Cunningham , Tom DeLay , Bob Ney , Mark Foley and William J. Jefferson . Wise announced in October 2010 that he

930-571: The 111th Congress with the 2008 election of Tom Rooney . After leaving Congress, Foley entered the real estate business in Palm Beach, Florida . He also came out publicly and was in a relationship with Palm Beach dermatologist Layne Nisenbaum until Nisenbaum's death in 2012. On September 22, 2009, Foley debuted as host of his own radio show, "Foley on Politics," on Seaview AM 960 in North Palm Beach, Florida . After several years removed from

992-511: The Committee on Ethics." House Republicans reversed their plan to gut the OCE less than 24 hours after the initial vote, under bipartisan pressure from Representatives, their constituents and the president-elect, Donald Trump . In addition to negative Trump tweets , criticism was widespread including from Judicial Watch , the Project on Government Oversight , former Representative Bob Ney (R-OH), who

1054-476: The House had he tried to stay in office. (Ironically, Hastert himself was described by a Federal District Court judge as a "serial child molester" and jailed in 2016 for illegally structuring bank withdrawals in an attempt to hide his own sexual abuse of four high school boys during his pre-Congressional career ). Even if Foley had tried to get his seat back, polls showed him losing badly to his Democratic opponent, Tim Mahoney . More pages came forward, alleging

1116-525: The House. That same day, Foley tendered his resignation to Hastert as well as Florida Governor Jeb Bush . Foley said in a statement, "I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida I have had the privilege to represent." Once the news report became more widely known, Foley's chances of retaining his seat in Congress were limited. Hastert said in an October 2 press conference that he would have demanded Foley's expulsion from

1178-410: The OCE from independently releasing public statements on pending or completed investigations. House Judiciary Committee chair Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) defended the action on the rules amendment saying it "builds upon and strengthens the existing Office of Congressional Ethics by maintaining its primary area of focus of accepting and reviewing complaints from the public and referring them, if appropriate, to

1240-528: The OCE from independently releasing statements publicly on pending or completed investigations. This move was immediately met with criticism by Democratic leaders in both the House and the Senate , with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi , claiming that "ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress", and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying that the GOP had failed to keep their promise to " drain

1302-523: The OCE to then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then- House Minority Leader John Boehner . The Sunlight Foundation stated at the time: "More than anything else the Office of Congressional Ethics has helped to reveal to the public the patent absurdity of the self-policing oversight that members provide through the House Ethics Committee ." On January 2, 2017, one day before the 115th United States Congress

SECTION 20

#1732845260216

1364-470: The United States House of Representatives.” The office is governed by an eight-person Board of Directors, composed of members who are private citizens and cannot serve as members of Congress, or work for the federal government. The OCE lacks subpoena power and must complete each review in a relatively short period of time—approximately three months at most. The OCE review process requires approval of

1426-408: The board at each step. In order to open a preliminary review, lasting no longer than 30 days, there must be "reasonable cause to believe allegations," according to the OCE. In order to proceed to a second phase, or further review, there must be "probable cause to believe allegations." The second phase must be completed within 45 days, with the possibility of a 14-day extension. Following completion of

1488-418: The board to hire the office’s staff for the entire session within 30 calendar days of the rules package passing. Any new hires would require the approval of at least four board members." According to Forbes , "the term limits would immediately remove three of the four Democratic members from the office’s board, but none of the four Republican board members would be dismissed. (Although members of each party chose

1550-562: The board’s members, they are supposed to perform their duties independently of their affiliation.) It could be difficult to fill the newly vacated spots within 30 days, which might leave the board with just five members. That would, in turn, make it harder to hire new employees, as four votes would be required to extend a job offer. The change also would leave Republican-appointed members with almost total control of staffing decisions. Even at full strength, hiring personnel sometimes take months." The Guardian stated that "though seemingly innocuous,

1612-564: The changes appear to have been drafted to strike at the principal vulnerabilities of OCE and defang its investigative powers for at least the next two years." Various government watchdog groups, like Campaign Legal Center , Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and Accountable.US, pushed back on the GOP move. The current membership Former board members include: Mark Foley Mark Adam Foley (born September 8, 1954)

1674-469: The early days of the House, the committee's reports have gotten much more technical, delving into the details of campaign finance and other financial arcana. As a result of the criminal investigation of Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX), and lobbyist Jack Abramoff , there was pressure on the Ethics Committee to take action to admonish members involved in their activities. However, action was slow and

1736-413: The ethics office... because it has been fulfilling its mission to put life into the lawmakers' own stultified ethics process, to penetrate the murk of misbehavior and keep the public better informed." Given these threats, a number of outside government groups, watchdogs and editorial writers campaigned that year to ensure the survival of the OCE into another session of Congress. They sent letters supporting

1798-530: The fundraising National Republican Congressional Committee ) and former chief of staff to Foley, said that he was with Foley on September 29, 2006, when ABC confronted him with the explicit messages before they were publicized. Fordham then informed Reynolds and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert ; he returned with a one-sentence resignation letter that Foley signed. Hastert and Reynolds made it clear that if Foley didn't resign, he would be expelled from

1860-528: The legitimate entertainment industry. In June 2003 he wrote letters to the governor and attorney general of Florida, asking them to review the legality of a program for teenagers of a Lake Como nudist resort in Land o' Lakes, Florida . Foley's legislation to change federal sex offender laws was supported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children , America's Most Wanted host John Walsh and

1922-491: The messages to find possible criminal charges. Each ended with no criminal finding. In the case of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FDLE commissioner Gerald Bailey with the closure of the case stated that the "FDLE conducted as thorough and comprehensive investigation as possible considering Congress and Mr. Foley denied us access to critical data." The House Ethics Committee also conducted an investigation into

United States House Committee on Ethics - Misplaced Pages Continue

1984-534: The newspaper about an intimate two-year relationship he had with Foley when the congressman was a teenage altar boy living in Lake Worth, Florida . The priest is retired and living in Malta . He acknowledged getting naked in saunas and possible "light touching", but denied contact of a sexual nature. Florida officials closed the investigation of Foley, stating they found "insufficient evidence" to file criminal charges since

2046-453: The office "has taken its mission seriously." Although the office does not have subpoena power, it has played a significant role in 2010 investigations concerning alleged ethics violations by Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), and former Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) The OCE was created by House Resolution 895 of the 110th United States Congress in March 2008, in

2108-488: The office, which requires reauthorization at the beginning of each new Congress. "The extent and level of ethics scrutiny the OCE has brought is unprecedented in the House," according to The Hill newspaper, in a Sept. 8, 2010 article on the future of the office. At least 20 of the OCE's referrals on sitting members of the House of Representatives were published on its website in its first Congressional session of operation—a demonstration, according to The Washington Post , that

2170-606: The page to send a photo of himself to Foley, among other things. Foley's office confirmed that Foley had sent the messages but said it has a practice of asking for photos of individuals who may ask for recommendations and that the page had requested a recommendation. The original news report prompted another page to come forward and on September 29, 2006, ABC News reported that it had seen excerpts of sexually explicit instant messages allegedly sent by Foley. The instant messages made repeated references to sexual organs and acts. Kirk Fordham , chief of staff to Tom Reynolds (chairman of

2232-618: The page was over the age of consent (16). Shortly after Foley resigned, the Republican Party of Florida named State Representative Joe Negron to run as the Republican replacement candidate to face Mahoney. In accordance with Florida election law, Foley's name remained on the ballot. Votes cast for Foley in the November election counted towards Negron's total. Mahoney called for a full investigation of Foley's actions. Foley's district had been held by Republicans since its creation in 1973 (it

2294-467: The panel, leading to a Democratic boycott and preventing a quorum. The stalemate lasted three months until Hastings backed down. By then the committee was left broken and unable to take action in the DeLay case, the full Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal , or other cases such as that of ranking Ethics Committee Democrat Jim McDermott (D-WA), who revealed violations by Newt Gingrich without authorization to

2356-987: The party that controls the House. This even split has limited its power by giving either political party an effective veto over the actions of the committee. Members may not serve more than three terms on the committee, unless they serve as chair in their fourth term. Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 79 (D), H.Res. 80 (R), H.Res. 84 (chair) Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 9 (chair), H.Res. 10 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 62 (D), H.Res. 63 (R), H.Res. 95 (R) Sources: H.Res. 31 (chair), H.Res. 32 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 113 (R), H.Res. 125 (D), H.Res. 148 (D) Sources: H.Res. 6 (R), H.Res. 56 , H.Res. 127 (D), H.Res. 685 (R) Sources: H.Res. 6 (R), H.Res. 30 , H.Res. 71 (D) Sources: H.Res. 6 (R), H.Res. 7 , H.Res. 42 (D) Source: The Ethics Committee has many functions, but they all revolve around

2418-718: The press. On November 16, 2010, Charles Rangel (D-NY) was found guilty on 11 of the 12 charges against him by the adjudicatory subcommittee of the House Ethics Committee. They included solicitation of funds and donations for the non-profit Rangel Center from those with business before the Ways and Means Committee and the improper use of Congressional letterhead and other House resources in those solicitations; for submitting incomplete and inaccurate financial disclosures, for using an apartment as an office despite having Congressional dealings with its landlord and for failing to pay taxes on

2480-531: The public and referring them, if appropriate, to the Committee on Ethics." House Republicans reversed their plan to gut the OCE less than 24 hours after the initial vote, under bipartisan pressure from Representatives of both parties, their constituents and the President-elect, Donald Trump . In addition to negative Trump tweets , criticism was widespread including from Judicial Watch , the Project on Government Oversight , former Representative Bob Ney , who

2542-400: The public eye, Foley resurfaced as a supporter of Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, appearing behind him in a crowd at one of his rallies. According to Florida law, the names of those with no opposition are not printed on the ballot and no totals need be submitted. Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2000, write-ins received 9 votes. Mark Foley's name was the one on

United States House Committee on Ethics - Misplaced Pages Continue

2604-642: The response of the House Republican leadership and their staff to possible earlier warnings of Foley's conduct. Foley was born in Newton, Massachusetts , the son of Frances and Edward Joseph Foley Jr., a teacher and civic activist. Foley served in the Florida House of Representatives 1990–1992 and then in the Florida State Senate 1993–1994. Foley was elected to the U.S. House in 1994 with 58 percent of

2666-522: The responsibility for impeding its progress was attributed to then- Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis Hastert . When the committee did admonish Tom DeLay for a third time, Hastert removed three Republicans from the panel, including chairman Joel Hefley , (R-CO). Hastert had his own personal ethical problems, such as when he failed to take action when warned about Mark Foley 's sexual relationships with young congressional pages. The new chairman, Doc Hastings (R-WA), acted to rein in

2728-514: The second-phase review, the OCE board votes to refer a matter to the House Ethics Committee with a recommendation for or against further review by the committee. The recommendation comes in the form of a report which must be released to the public, unless the OCE recommendation was against further review. Consequently, the OCE has published nearly two dozen reports on members believed to have violated House rules—leading to cheers from government watchdog groups and to calls by some in Congress for gutting

2790-471: The standards of ethical conduct for members of the House. Under this authority, it: The committee has a long history; the first matter it handled was on January 30, 1798, when Rep. Matthew Lyon of Vermont was accused of "gross indecency" after he spat on Rep. Roger Griswold of Connecticut after an exchange of insults (a week later, another complaint was filed against Lyon, this time for "gross indecency of language in his defense before this House"). Since

2852-522: The swamp ", referring to the frequent use of the phrase by President-elect Donald Trump and other Republican leaders during the 2015 campaign. The 119–74 vote reflected the frustration of many lawmakers who questioned the non-partisanship of the OCE. In a statement, Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) defended pushing the rules amendment because it "builds upon and strengthens the existing Office of Congressional Ethics by maintaining its primary area of focus of accepting and reviewing complaints from

2914-526: The tobacco litigation team that successfully prosecuted the civil racketeering case against the cigarette industry. He joined the United States Department of Justice through the prestigious Attorney General's Honors Program after graduating from Harvard Law School . Wise is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies . He is also an officer in

2976-478: The vote and in 2004 with 68 percent of the vote. Foley was a moderate Republican . He spent most of his tenure in Congress as a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee . He was also the first public figure to imply that Vice President Al Gore claimed to have invented the Internet . On March 12, 1999, Reuters reported Foley as saying, "The Vice President is mistaken. The only thing he has ever invented

3038-430: The vote, defeating Democrat John Comerford. He was re-elected in 1996 with 64 percent of the vote against Democrat Jim Stuber and again in 1998 (this time without opposition). He was re-elected in 2000 with 60 percent of the vote against Democrat Jean Elliott Brown and Reform Party candidate John McGuire. Constitution Party candidate Jack McLain was his only opponent in 2002. He was re-elected in 2002 with 79 percent of

3100-421: The wake of across-the-board Democratic victories in the 2006 elections. It was created under the leadership of then- Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi as part of her effort to clean up what she called the "culture of corruption" in official Washington, which had garnered so much attention in the preceding congressional sessions. According to OCE Communications Director Jon Steinman, in

3162-557: Was a member of The Republican Majority For Choice which does not believe there should be any restriction on abortion. He has, however, advocated alternatives such as adoption and sexual abstinence . He also supported the Patriot Act , the death penalty and strict sentencing for hate crimes . Foley was a member of Christine Todd Whitman 's It's My Party Too and the Republican Main Street Partnership . According to

SECTION 50

#1732845260216

3224-440: Was concentrating on a run for governor, which excluded him from the Office of Congressional Ethics' jurisdiction. Besides Deal, another Georgia Republican, Rep. Paul Broun , accused of paying a consultant with taxpayer funds in his 2014 bid for a U.S. Senate race, avoided answering to charges by losing that primary and leaving office. The OCE discovered, via a difficult investigation, that a 2013 trip nine members took to Azerbaijan

3286-410: Was convicted of receiving bribes, and Jack Abramoff , the lobbyist who provided such bribes. After regaining a majority in the House of Representatives during the 118th United States Congress , House Republicans announced plans to change OCE rules, with the set of changes including "reinstat[ing] two four-year term limits for board members, which haven’t been enforced since 2014. It also could require

3348-436: Was convicted of receiving bribes, and Abramoff, the lobbyist who provided such bribes. Office of Congressional Ethics The Office of Congressional Ethics ( OCE ), established by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2008, is a nonpartisan, independent entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of the House of Representatives and their staff and, when appropriate, referring matters to

3410-514: Was either homosexual or bisexual and was in a long-term homosexual relationship. The story was initially published only in local and gay press; then the New Times broke the story in the mainstream press. Other alternative press rivals, including the New York Press , then addressed the topic. Foley held a press conference to denounce the "revolting" rumors and stated that his sexual orientation

3472-542: Was leaving the OCE to join the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland following what OCE Chairman David Skaggs termed an "extraordinary job 'standing up' and managing OCE operations during its first two years." Calls to eliminate the office have come from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress. The New York Times Editorial Board wrote in 2010 that "Grumblers on both sides want to gut

3534-511: Was paid for by funds laundered for the purpose from the Azerbaijani government. The Ethics committee had asked the OCE to drop the case, only approving release of a summary finding in 2015, deeming the full report "not appropriate for release because the referral followed the OCE Board’s decision not to cease its investigations." On January 2, 2017, one day before the 115th United States Congress

3596-407: Was scheduled to convene for its first session, House Republicans held a "surprise vote" to effectively place the OCE under direct control of the House Ethics Committee , therefore making any future review of potential violations of criminal law by members of Congress subject to approval following referral to the Ethics Committee or an appropriate federal law enforcement agency. These new rules also bar

3658-415: Was scheduled to convene for its first session, the House Republican majority voted 119–74 to effectively place the OCE under direct control of the House Ethics Committee, making any subsequent reviews of possible violations of criminal law by Congressional members dependent upon approval following referral to the Ethics Committee itself, or to federal law enforcement agencies. The new rules would have prevented

3720-410: Was the 10th District until 1983 and the 12th District until 1993.) In an effort to use the scandal to his benefit, Negron used the slogan "Punch Foley for Joe!", instructing voters to "punch" Foley's name on the ballot to chastise him and support Negron. Negron narrowly lost the election to Tim Mahoney . Negron had 47.7 percent and Mahoney had 49.5 percent. The seat fell back into Republican hands in

3782-438: Was unimportant, but did not specifically deny the rumors. A few weeks later, he withdrew his candidacy, saying his father's battle with cancer had caused him to reassess his perspective on life (the seat was later won by Republican Mel Martinez ). Foley had raised $ 3 million in campaign contributions before withdrawing. In the House, Foley was one of the foremost opponents of child pornography . Foley had served as chairman of

SECTION 60

#1732845260216

3844-477: Was widespread criticism of Republican leaders for their response to earlier warnings and inconsistencies in their statements. In particular, many called for Hastert to resign, including some conservative voices such as the editorial page of The Washington Times . On October 19, 2006, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune stated that a disgraced abusive homosexual Catholic priest named Anthony Mercieca told

#215784