Posted on 08/01/2012 9:14:32 AM PDT by jazusamo
The House Ethics Committee has found Rep. Laura Richardson guilty of violating rules that prohibit pressuring her staff to perform campaign work and personal errands and is recommending that the House issue a reprimand and fine her $10,000.
The panel also found that Ms. Richardson, a Democrat from California, obstructed the Ethics panel’s investigation by altering or destroying evidence and a deliberately failed to respond to a subpoena for documents. The committee also said she attempted to influence the testimony of witnesses.
Ethics Committee Chairman Jo Bonner, a Republican from Alabama, and ranking member Linda Sanchez, a Democrat from California, announced the decision in a joint statement Wednesday, noting that the investigative subcommittee unanimously concluded that there was “substantial reason to believe” Ms. Richardson violated federal law as well as several House rules.
Ms. Richardson, Mr. Bonner and Ms. Sanchez said that “improperly” used House resources for campaign, personal and nonofficial purposes required or compelled her official staff to perform campaign work and obstructed the investigation of the committee and the investigative subcommittee conducting the probe through the “alteration or destruction of evidence, the deliberate failure to produce documents responsive to requests for information and a subpoena, and attempting to influence the testimony of witnesses.”
Earlier this year, Politico reported that Ms. Richardson had pressured House aides to work on California political redistricting issues last year. The work reportedly included collecting information about communities outside her district, organizing a workshop to train constituents in advance of a public meeting of California’s redistricting commission and writing talking points for those constituents to deliver during the public-comments portion of the meeting.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
/johnny
The real problem with the Dem power ladder is, how do you get from low-5-figure theft up to hundreds of millions? I mean, folks need to get practice with mid-level theft before they can go for the big time. You don’t get to go to the Olympics fresh out of jr. high school. This is a serious problem, and I think it bodes poorly for future Dem leadership. Ahh, the era of Jon Corzine and Angelo Mozillo seems to be drawing to a close. This lady simply made the mistake of going way too small.
But she is one of Eric Holder's people.
Were she not one of Holder's people she would probably be criminally prosecuted.
Exactly, she's long overdue.
Real findings and an absolute joke of a sentence. /disgust
I see that she’s being challenged in a primary, but based on the charges of destroying evidence, etc., and misusing her staff for campaign work, why is she even still in office? If this was a Republican, he/she would have had to resign.
So she used her people as personal prostitutes.. or slaves if you will.
$10K .... BFD
Howz about some of her forced labor file a civil suit against her?
>>Typical old media tactic. Party affiliation comes in the 2nd paragraph when it’s a Dem.<<
Only because “Richardson, a mumble mumble,” doesn’t work in print...
Wow, they mention Democrat in the second line?
How about firing or demotion for criminal behavior? Misuse of company resources is bad, but destroying evidence and ignoring a subpoena is criminal. Seven elven employees are held to a higher standard than politicians hold themselves, all the while they tighten the screws on the people they "serve".
The part about redistricting and coaching civilians is the bigger story here in California. we voted previously a initiative to have a panel of public persons not elected ones to look at redistricting. We were sold on the idea this takes it OUT of the hands of the politicians. Well these same politicians selectively seeked out citizens with the areas they wanted to control and coached and bribed them to speak before committees.... they were mostly a bunch of shills for the same people we tried to stop from making up our districts.....
Sounds like she just got a little slap on the rat.
Yep, for what she did it’s a pathetic penalty.
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