WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee said Tuesday it is forming a special panel to investigate whether Alaska Rep. Don Young failed to report gifts on his annual disclosure forms, misused campaign funds and lied to federal officials. The committee also announced a separate special panel will examine whether New Jersey Rep. Rob Andrews broke House rules by using campaign funds for personal travel.
The allegations against Young, a Republican who has served in the House since 1973, focus on his expenses and travel costs for trips that were already the subject of an ethics investigation. The investigative subcommittee will look at whether he, or persons acting on his behalf, obtained or received improper gifts, misused official resources or campaign funds for personal use or failed to report gifts on required disclosure statements.
The committee said in a statement that it will investigate the allegations after a referral from the Department of Justice. The department had previously investigated allegations Young accepted gifts in exchange for political patronage.
Michael Anderson, a spokesman for Young, said Young would cooperate with the investigation.
“Congressman Young has cooperated with the committee and will continue to do so,” he said.
The allegations against Andrews involve whether the Democrat improperly used campaign funds for personal trips, including a wedding in Scotland and numerous trips to California with his daughter, who has a fledgling career as a singer and actress. The case was referred to the House Ethics Committee by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics.
A report the OCE, released in August of last year, said Andrews’ trip to Edinburgh, Scotland -- including four business class tickets for himself and his family -- was either paid for or later reimbursed by Andrews’ campaign accounts.
Andrews said he expected the investigation to clear him.
“As I have previously stated, this continuing review by the House Ethics Committee will establish and confirm that I have always followed all the rules and met all the standards of the House,” Andrews said.
Andrews said he will “eagerly provide” all the information requested by the committee.
The panel investigating Andrews will be led by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. The panel investigating Young will be led by Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa. The committee said in its statement announcing the panels that the investigative subcommittees will determine whether the lawmakers violated the House’s Code of Official Conduct.
The committee, in its statement, also makes clear that the establishment of the subcommittee does not indicate that any violation had occurred.
Comments (25)
Add commentBroken record
We all know that his status related to corruption and ethics. We need a commission to remind us yet again?
Wondering?
Why's this story about "Andrews". Guilt by association?
Don IS curruption. He is the
Don IS curruption. He is the very definition of the word. But to have Congressional delegates doing the investigation is a little like having Stalin look into whether or not Hitler commited crimes against humanity. Congress is rife with corruption. Everyone has their hand in at least a couple of pockets. Thats how the game is played, now days. Peoplee used to serve for the betterment of the country. now its about power and money...
Scream
The liberals will scream that it is a "witch hunt" because Andrews is a Dem. Nothing will be said about Young!
The Great Land!
At least Don doesn't need a freezer to store money!
Everyone knows Rep. Young is
Everyone knows Rep. Young is corrupt. Republicans don't care because he is a Republican. How he has skated by charges and gets re-elected time and time again is a stain on Alaska.
Basically a Republican can do whatever they want-hookers, bribes (oh-"campaign donations"), abortions, drugs-as long as they say are against taxes, abortion, and "teh gays."
You don't mean...
...that someone jacked up his house and inserted another living room and kitchen in there, do you?
That old trick again...
Republican
President and a Republican House Majority were in place when this investigation began (before Obama was elected.) Even though it is still a Republican House Majority and they voted to hold more investigations some blind folks fail to see Dung as an accused but prefer to see him as a martyr.
Disgusting
It is disgusting that our politicians are constantly being found out to be crooks. Why don't more honest people run for office? I am not sure why it is being broken down to Republicans do this...Democrats do that. There is corruption on both sides.
el
I think its the dem from NJ thats being looked at for the hooker thing, the rep was the one soliciting gays in an airport bathroom the one that lost his job....no pun intended
Simple answer......term limits.
reminds
Me of a song
Clowns to the left of me jokers to the right
Don Young's legacy will be how
Don Young's legacy will be how LOW he set the bar for Alaska.
@islandhopper
Please get your facts straight. Turns out the hookers were paid by SOMEONE to lie and state Menendez solicited hookers when it was a complete fabrication. Just keepin it real, bro.
As for Donny, time to retire another dinosaur.
@ islandhopper
I LIKE it! And here we are, stuck in the middle... time to retire all the clowns and jokers!
Paul
Sadly, I am a firm believer that 99% of politicians start out life as relativly honest public servants looking to do good by their constituants (school board, city, and local especially). What starts as a "commen sense" approach to I need XYZ support to do the greatest good turns into a cycle of pay-for-votes etc. Did Don start out bad, certainly not, is he now,sadly most likely. Call me a pesimist. I'm sure things have occured in his tenure that are questionable at best, illegal at worst.
Even you Paul, with enough time, power, and opportunity, would certainly get close to the questionable line. Human nature.
Agree with Paul N...
On this one. Why can't we have a simple set of rules, say, the same kind of thing we apply in High School.
- get caught cheating? You're expelled.
- get caught sending naked pictures of yourself? Expelled.
- get caught breaking the law? (take your pick - drunk driving, hookers, drugs, bribes, etc.) - Expelled.
- get caught breaking a contract - including the one with your wife? Expelled.
I see no reason we shouldn't hold our elected officials to the highest standard possible. If we just had a zero tolerance policy and GOT RID OF THEM when these kinds of things happened, it wouldn't be long before we'd have better people. If I can manage to follow the rules above, I see no reason why the people we pay upwards of $200k a year to write and oversee the most important laws and budgets we have can't manage to follow them as well.
(yes, I know these rules aren't all literally followed in the same way in HS.......)
Yea...what swimmer said!
But I agree with Raininak...I think most start with the best intentions. One former state lawmaker once told me why he chose not to run for another term. he wanted to do the best for alaska. Everyone expects something from him. He found the political process distasteful because the compromises he had to make in order to further worthy legislation made him feel like he'd been dipped in dung. He feared he'd never wash the stink out of his soul. Corruption spans both sides of the asile. If this is the culture at the state level...can you imagine what it's like at the national level?
Tea party time
At least the tea party made an attempt to change the way things are done in Washington. To bad the democrats didn't have something like that.
@isldandhopper
Please take a look at Senator David Vitter.
""This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in a statement given to reporters Monday night. "Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and from my wife in confession and marriage counseling." "
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/10/vitter.madam/index.html
Maybe do a search on "vitter diapers"
https://www.google.com/search?q=vitter+diapers&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&i...
Personally I would not give two plops about someone's sexual proclivities, but conservatives make such a show of ramming themselves into everyone's bedrooms that they deserve some criticism.
el......
I guess your point is????? Hate the repbs???? Mine is for every david vitter there's a anthony weiner & without term limits nothings gonna change.
Anthony Weiner did not hold a
Anthony Weiner did not hold a moralizing public position. Unpaid parking tickets? Yes. Sexual morals? No.
Republicans who campaign on sexual morality seem to turn out to be having sex with other men in bathrooms, or committing adultery, or having abortions, or having meth-fueled sex parties with other men.
How many Democrats out there campaign on telling you that you are a pervert and destroying America? Not very many. And how many of them turn out to be diaper wearing, or meth snorting, or closeted gay men? Not very many-in fact I only remember one, a NJ governor. Weiners wiener pics were stupid and lame, but were they wrong? Weiner never campaigned on moral superiority. Elliot Spitzer comes the closest, but he apparently had a kink that his wife refused to indulge so he went to a hooker to indulge it. Please note-all of them resigned immediately upon the "scandal."
Here's the thing...it’s just sex. So what?
Bribes, cronyism, campaign financing, insider trading, and the revolving door to the private sector are the real problems, but it is sex that people care about.
Next time you see a report of a closeted Democrat soliciting for sex in a bathroom let me know.
party...
Ethics issues in DC have nothing to do with party affiliation. They're all jacked!
dont
forget teddy leaving his date to die........the lion was just a young man at the time. Too bad you've missed the point el, but you go ahead & pass your moral judgement on whom ever you think you should.
hope
ya turned the lights out
Let's start by..
Perhaps we should consider a cleansing of Congress, rid the system of all 535 members and start over. Yes, there are a few alter boys in their midst but they to have likely been tainted. These people were once looked upon as our leaders, the movers and shakers of America. Unfortunately nowadays they are a disgusting bunch of clowns.