Nancy Pelosi

Doubts Cast on Rep. Meeks’ New Account of Missing Katrina Funds

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 03/15/2010 - 09:50

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) has offered a second account of what happened to money he helped raise for Hurricane Katrina victims who apparently did not receive the aid. But this latest explanation — that it benefitted Katrina victims who came to New York City — is proving as flimsy as his original.

On New York’s Channel 1, Meeks was actually being interviewed about Rep. Charles Rangel’s downfall when the interviewer shifted gears to questions about the Katrina charity. Meeks has ducked interviews on the topic since NLPC first raised questions on January 31 about a nonprofit called New Direction Local Development Corporation, which sponsored an effort known as New Yorkers Organized to Assist Hurricane Families (NOAH-F). The “charity” is now being investigated by federal prosecutors.

Flaherty: Rangel Had to Know of Junket's Corporate Sponsorship

Submitted by NLPC Staff on Sun, 02/28/2010 - 16:56

Fox News Channel reports on the House Ethics Committee's admonition of Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel for accepting travel from Citigroup and other corporations. NLPC President Peter Flaherty, who exposed the violation, says Rangel had to be aware of corporate sponsorship. Click here to download one-page pdf transcript.

Ethics Committee Covers Up Massive PMA “Pay to Play” Scheme

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Fri, 02/26/2010 - 17:21

Pelosi Murtha Just when you think that the House Ethics Committee might actually be doing its job in the form of the Rangel admonition, it reverts to form on the investigation of the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA that was headed by Paul Magliocchetti.

Indeed, PMA may be the biggest cover-up in the history of the Ethics Committee, which today issued a report clearing the late Rep. John Murtha and Reps. Jim Moran (D-VA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Norm Dicks (D-WA) and Bill Young (R-FL).

This action was certainly calculated by Nancy Pelosi to protect the late Murtha. It is the strongest evidence to date that earmarking and corruption are still bipartisan enterprises. Republicans cannot attack Pelosi’s toleration of corruption as long as Republican members of the Ethics Committee sign off on a report like this. The Republican members of the Ethics Committee are:

Ethics Committee Nails Charles Rangel on NLPC-Exposed Caribbean Junket

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Thu, 02/25/2010 - 23:15

Carib junket photo The House Ethics Committee has ruled that Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel violated the House gift rule by accepting travel to events in the Caribbean in 2007 and 2008.

NLPC was the source of the information on which the Committee acted. I attended the 2008 event in St. Maarten where I took photographs and made audio recordings of the event, demonstrating that it was paid for by Citigroup and other large corporations. These items were provided to the Ethics Committee in May 2009. Click here to download a 4-page pdf of our Complaint.

The Committee characterized its action as a “public admonishment” of Rangel, and is requiring that Rangel repay the cost of the trips. Click here to download a 3-page pdf of the Committee’s statement dated tomorrow.

Why Haven’t Obama, Pelosi Jettisoned Rep. Gregory Meeks?

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Sun, 02/21/2010 - 12:58

Meeks photo You would think that Democratic leaders would distance themselves from a member of Congress who has been identified with Ponzi swindler Allen Stanford, not to mention a charity that is now under federal investigation for fraudulently raising money for Hurricane Katrina victims. Nope.

According to one media report:

President Barack Obama of the United States of America has dispatched a five-member delegation of US congressmen led by Representative Gregory Meeks to Zimbabwe.

Mollohan Will Not Be Charged With Crime; Culture of Corruption Wins

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Tue, 01/26/2010 - 13:32

Mollohan photo The Justice Department has confirmed that it has ended its investigation of Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV). The probe began after NLPC filed a Complaint with the U.S. Attorney for D.C. in February of 2006 alleging that Mollohan failed to report millions in assets on his Financial Disclosure Form (FDR) in order to conceal cozy financial relationships with recipients of earmarks he had arranged.

The closing of the four-year probe by the Justice Department comes after Mollohan voted for Barack Obama’s unpopular health care plan. Has Attorney General Eric Holder now made it legal for members of Congress to earmark money to their business partners? This is a horrible precedent.

In the uproar that followed our original allegations, Mollohan “temporarily” resigned as ranking Democrat on the Ethics Committee. I doubt that Nancy Pelosi will now try to put him back. Even she realizes that Mollohan represents everything the public loathes about Congress. Holder's letting him off the hook is sure to further inflame anti-incumbent resentment.

Charlie Cook: Ethics Will Be Big Issue in 2010 House Races

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 11/30/2009 - 11:12

Pelosi and Murtha photo Political analyst Charlie Cook says that the scandals enveloping Reps. Charles Rangel (D-NY) and John Murtha (D-PA) threaten to increase losses for their party in next year’s election. He writes:

As House Democrats try to avert political disaster by limiting their 2010 losses to about 16 seats, the norm for post-World War II presidents' first midterm elections, dealing with their members' ethics problems may be one of their toughest tasks.

The task is tough because of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s reluctance to move against either one, notwithstanding her promise to “drain the swamp” of Congressional corruption and to “create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history.”

Mollohan Conflict of Interest Scrutinized by Washington Post

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Tue, 11/24/2009 - 08:47

Mollohan photo The Ethics Committee document leaked last month to the Washington Post is putting a renewed spotlight on Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) and the fact that he chairs the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the budget of the Justice Department, which is investigating his finances.

From Carol Leonnig in today’s Washington Post:

"There are a hundred ways he can influence what happens with the department's funding -- without one vote. Everything goes through his committee," said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative watchdog group that alleged in a complaint that the congressman had not reported the nature and increasing value of his real estate investments. "If that's not a conflict of interest, I don't know what is."

NY Times: Rangel is “Gloomy”

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 11/23/2009 - 22:02

New York Times reporters Raymond Hernandez and Jim Rutenberg asserted yesterday:

There seems to be little joy in being Representative Charles B. Rangel these days…as an ethics investigation into his financial dealings continues, Mr. Rangel’s once-considerable clout is diminished and his spirits are often gloomy, friends and associates say, even as he begins to fight back.

Shouldn’t it be taxpayers who are gloomy as long as Rangel remains in office? Each new revelation about Rangel’s finances points to a pattern of corner cutting and corruption that has gone on for decades.

Rangel Says Ethics Committee Has Not Asked About His Finances

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Fri, 10/30/2009 - 12:14

The Washington Post reports today that staff members of the House Ethics Committee met with Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) in July and questioned him about a trip by Rangel and four other members of the Congressional Black Caucus to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. According to the Post:

Rangel said he has not been interviewed by the committee to discuss other elements of the investigation, which involve his personal finances and whether House resources were improperly used to raise funds for a college center named for him.

It was NLPC that exposed both the Caribbean junket and Rangel’s failure to disclose, or pay taxes on, rental income from his Dominican Republic “villa.” While we welcome the investigation of the junket, we believe that tax evasion is a serious matter, and that Rangel should be treated no differently than any other citizen.