Ethics committee: La. Sen. David Vitter violated public trust in blocking Salazar salary

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

By Associated Press,

WASHINGTON — The Senate ethics committee says Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana undermined public trust last year by blocking a salary increase for the interior secretary.

However, the committee said Vitter’s unprecedented action raised a new issue, making it impossible to charge the Louisiana Republican with rules violations.

Vitter blocked the increase for Ken Salazar when Salazar failed to issue six permits a month for new deepwater exploratory wells.

The committee, in a letter to Vitter on Friday, said that if Salazar had agreed to the demand, it would have appeared that he was complying in order to obtain a raise.

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/federal_government/ethics-committee-la-sen-david-vitter-violated-public-trust-in-blocking-salazar-salary/2012/03/30/gIQADEm1lS_story.html

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Related: After ethics ruling, Vitter vows to keep blocking Salazar's pay raise (Politico)

[Angry Dragon]

1. so much slime in congress

[aquart]

2. Pink slime?

[Angry Dragon]

5. slime comes in all colors

[tularetom]

3. Nobody ever did anything this sleazy before so we can't charge him with anything

However, the committee said Vitter’s unprecedented action raised a new issue, making it impossible to charge the Louisiana Republican with rules violations

Are they really saying that or am I misunderstanding their action?

[fightthegoodfightnow]

4. David Vitter has no moral compass....

....between his prostitutes and his blackmailing, he is a mess.

[cstanleytech]

6. No, he has one he just only uses it when the arrow points to "Unethical"

[jerseyjack]

7. Vitter -- ethics = incongruence.

[fujiyama]

8. Louisiana has some of the worst politicians this country has ever produced

and the state is a cesspool of corruption. That Vitter is a real class act.

I hope I don't need a sarcasm icon...

[sulphurdunn]

9. People bigoted and stupid enough

or rich and greedy enough to elect perverts like this deserve what they get in the end (pun intended), but the rest of us don't, and there's the whole thrust of it (Oops!)

[jmowreader]

10. How, exactly, is this "unprecedented"?

Person A does something Person B doesn't like, so Person B does something adverse to Person A. Kind of a negative quid pro quo.

If I was Ken Salazar, I'd respond by using eminent domain to take Vitter's house and turn the land over to an oil company. Republicans like eminent domain, right?