Executive Branch Officials 'Routinely' Accepting Gifts From Firms With Conflicting Interests

[babylonsister]

Executive agencies' trips paid by firms
Departments see no ethical conflict

By Ken Dilanian
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — At a time when Congress has moved to ban most lobbyist-funded travel, executive- branch officials are routinely accepting trips from companies and trade associations with a stake in their agencies' decisions, according to a USA TODAY review of public records.

In a recent 12-month period:

•A Department of Transportation aviation analyst went to a conference in Geneva at a cost of $1,900 courtesy of the National Business Aviation Association, which lobbies the department on private jet rules.

• Two Defense Department homeland defense officials attended a conference in Limerick, Ireland, that was sponsored by Rivada Networks, a defense contractor that picked up the $4,200 tab.

•The Consumer Electronics Association, a lobbying group, paid more than $34,000 to host 24 officials from various agencies at the five-star Wynn hotel at its Las Vegas trade show in January, spokesman Jason Oxman said.

Those trips and more than 100 others taken from April 2006 to March 2007 would be out of bounds for members of Congress under the recently passed ethics bill, because they lasted more than one day and were paid for by companies or groups that employ lobbyists. The travel restrictions in the ethics bill, which awaits President Bush's signature, don't apply to the other branches of government.

more...

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070823/1a_lede23_dom.art.htm

[spanone]

1. K&R

[Wickerman]

2. makes all the outrage over Epsy seem a tad silly

http://www.iht.com/articles/1997/08/28/indict.t.php

.........Mr. Smaltz was appointed to investigate whether Mr. Espy violated the law by accepting tickets to the football game and $1,009 in air fare for himself and his girlfriend from a lobbyist for Tyson Foods, Jack Williams. Mr. Espy resigned three months after Mr. Smaltz's appointment.

Mr. Williams was found guilty in March of lying about providing tickets to Mr. Espy. But in June, a federal judge set aside the conviction and ordered a new trial. Prosecutors had argued that Mr. Williams lied to hide his knowledge of gifts for Mr. Espy on behalf of Tyson Foods...........