Senior Democrat Exits House Ethics Panel (in trouble)

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/mollohan;_ylt=AnSM1zNdVa57DDYsbvei6Bis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--

Senior Democrat Exits House Ethics Panel

By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The top Democrat on the House ethics committee, Alan Mollohan, will leave the panel — at least temporarily — while he defends his own financial conduct, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Friday.


Mollohan's decision comes in an election year when his party is accusing majority Republicans of allowing a "culture of corruption" in Congress.

Mollohan, of West Virginia, will be replaced by Rep. Howard Berman (news, bio, voting record) of California, a former ranking Democrat on the panel. Mollohan has denied any wrongdoing.

The only evenly divided panel in the House, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has been divided along partisan lines for the past 16 months and unable to launch any major new investigations. If Mollohan had stayed while under his own ethics cloud, the chances for the stalemate to end would have been almost impossible.

[rodeodance]

1. and Peloli statement

While Mollohan's troubles threaten to become a major campaign problem for Democrats, Pelosi, of California, said in a statement that Mollohan decided on his own to step down and that she accepted his decision.

"The allegations against Congressman Mollohan originate from the National Legal and Policy Center, which engages in highly partisan attacks on Democrats," Pelosi said.

"The attacks are an attempt to deflect attention from the long list of Republican criminal investigations, indictments, plea agreements and resignations which have resulted from the reported long-term and extensive criminal enterprise run out of House Republican leadership offices," she said.

Using a phrase that has become a Democratic refrain, Pelosi said, "The Republican culture of corruption has been ignored by the ethics committee for a year and a half following the decision of the Republican leadership to fire their own chairman and committee members for doing their job."

[Rose Siding]

3. Scaife

bastid

I hope Alan can wrap this up quickly. Sealed allegations from wing nuts. Whoever heard of such a thing?

[Xipe Totec]

2. The honorable thing to do

Even if he is not guilty of wrongdoing.

Last thing we need is an opportunity for the repugs to confuse the issue of corruption by playing the "we're not the only ones" card.