Her Highness.
Posted on 11/18/2004 7:24:35 PM PST by LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget
WASHINGTON Nov 18, 2004 — The House ethics committee decided Thursday to take no action against Rep. Karen McCarthy after finding that she misused campaign funds for a trip to the Grammy Awards and refused to repay the money.
In recommending no sanctions against the Missouri Democrat, the panel cited her retirement in January and said the Federal Election Commission could pursue the matter.
"I'm pleased the committee recommended no action, as I know I did nothing wrong," McCarthy said in a statement. "I am confident that based on controlling FEC precedent, my campaign activities at the Grammys did not violate federal election law."
McCarthy announced her retirement last year following allegations, first reported by The Associated Press, that she improperly used her campaign and people on her House staff for personal benefit, such as a trip to the 2003 Grammy Awards in New York, where she stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
Lawmakers are prohibited from using campaign funds for personal spending under the House Code of Official Conduct as well as FEC regulations.
Media reports prompted the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to review McCarthy's case. The panel said she refused to respond to its requests for information about the trip to the Grammys.
"In view of her failure to establish that her trip had `bona fide campaign or political purposes,' we concluded in the middle of this year, and advised Representative McCarthy, that she was required to repay the expenses of that trip to her campaign account using personal funds," the committee said in a statement.
"However, to date she has failed to make the required repayment or even to state her intention to do so," said the statement, issued jointly by the panel's chairman, Rep. Joel Hefley, D-Colo., and senior Democrat, Rep. Alan B. Mollohan of West Virgina.
"Normally such disregard of committee determinations by a member would warrant the initiation of a formal disciplinary proceeding against the member," the lawmakers said.
They said the panel decided not to pursue disciplinary action because it was impossible to complete before Congress adjourns and McCarthy leaves the House and because the FEC could resolve the matter.
An ethics watchdog criticized the committee's decision.
"She gave the House ethics committee a slap in the face, and the ethics committee did nothing about it," said Gary Ruskin, who heads the Congressional Accountability Project. "It's not a resolution. It's a public insult to the ethics committee for failing to comply with information requests and for requests to repay the funds."
McCarthy's career began to unravel in March 2003 when she took a drunken fall on a government escalator, gashing her forehead and prompting her to seek treatment for alcoholism. The incident also called attention to her frequently missed votes and high staff turnover.
Aides alleged she used them as personal chauffeurs to and from work and on personal errands, which is against federal law. McCarthy maintained she did nothing wrong. The ethics panel did not address those allegations.
Former Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat, won election to her seat on Nov. 2.
"I'm shocked, SHOCKED that an 'honorable' Congresswoman would abuse the power of office"
"Your tickets, Ma'am."
Why was this woman not arrested for theft? Obviously, members of Congress are above the law. This stinks.
Even more shocking is that her party affiliation (Dem of course) is in the second paragraph!
Yeah, what you said.
Yeah, what you said.
Halliburton!!!
Her Highness.
Glad to see this drunk is finally gone.
Well, we got rid of the drunk... Well, not "we," but the KC democrat machine.
It's nice to know that we're losing a corrupt, drunken pol, and in her place, getting a REALLY corrupt pol!
Don't let the "Reverend" title fool you. Emmanual Cleaver is one of the most corrupt mayors KC has ever had, and that's saying alot!
Mark
Can the IRS get her? I think the IRS pays a bounty for fraudulent income that someone reports. How do I report this?
Thanks for your post. Another member of the anti-freedom Democratic Crime Syndicate exposed.
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