Ethics panel reprimands Hilliard
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct concluded its investigation into the alleged campaign finance abuses of Rep. Earl D. Hilliard (D-Ala.) last week, issuing a formal letter of reproval.
The committee deplored three separate actions, stating, “in knowing violation of the Code of Official Conduct, you expended funds from your campaign account for purposes not attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes and you converted campaign contributions for political use.”
The violations included misappropriated salaries for non-campaign employees and payment of rent for members of Hilliard’s family.
The committee’s four-year inquiry was prompted by a series of articles in 1997 and 1998 in The Hill that analyzed the Federal Election Commission records of Hilliard’s first campaign alongside Hilliard’s business and personal ledgers.
The reprimand was the least severe penalty the committee could impose. It chose this form of rebuke because Hilliard admitted to what the committee called “serious official misconduct that brought discredit to the House of Representatives.” The panel said its decision was influenced by a recommendation from the House Investigations Subcommittee, which had been supervising the investigation.
The letter was signed by Reps. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the chairman and ranking member. The 10-member committee, equally divided between Republicans and Democrats, manages all ethics inquiries into House members. It has the power to recommend a fine or even a member’s expulsion.
In 1992 Hilliard became the first African-American to represent Alabama in Congress since Reconstruction after serving 18 years in the Alabama state Legislature, He was reelected last year with 75 percent of the vote.
“I am pleased that the four-year ethics committee investigation of my conduct has concluded,” Hilliard said in a statement on Friday. “I look forward to putting this investigation behind me and focusing my attention on the needs of my district and serving my constituents.”