Posted on 12/23/2012 11:08:02 AM PST by John Semmens
The House Ethics Committee cleared Representative Gregory Meeks (D-NY) of wrongdoing in connection with his secret acceptance of a $40,000 payment from Edul Ahmad, an individual who subsequently pleaded guilty in a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
While the Ethics in Government Act requires members of Congress to disclose payments received from private parties, Meeks argued that the $40,000 was a “loan” rather than a “gift” and, therefore, exempt from the reporting requirement. Unfortunately, Meeks was unable to document his claim as he says he “misplaced” the relevant papers.
The Ethics Committee report found that “while Congressman Meeks’ excuse for his inability to verify his version of events is ‘lame,’ his word as a member of Congress must be held above that of an admitted felon. Further, the absence of corroboration by members of Congress in such instances is not unusual and, as such, should not be held as conclusive evidence of improper behavior.”
“Congressman Meeks’ contention that he is under no obligation now to repay the loan to ‘an admitted crook’ has merit,” the report continued. “The Congressman’s assertion that the $40,000 is safer in his hands than in Mr. Ahmad’s is persuasive. Members of government are under the scrutiny of voters and can be turned out of office if deemed to be excessively corrupt.”
“Finally, Congressman Meeks’ assertion that others owing far larger amounts have gotten away with not repaying loans is indubitably correct,” the report concluded. “The example he cited of the Solyndra Corporation ‘stiffing the government for over $500 million’ is irrefutable. Lest we set a precedent that works to the disadvantage of every member of Congress, we must absolve Representative Meeks in this case.”
http://constitutionclub.org/2012/12/22/semi-news-a-satire-of-recent-news-46/
John, this was too believable!
Meeks argued that the $40,000 was a “loan”,yeah that’s the ticket he was going to get some stamps at the post office.
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