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American Government Ethics Enforcement by . . . Russia
Monday, July 21st, 2014
Robert Wechsler
According to an Associated Press article this weekend, Jim Moran, a
congressman from Virginia, was banned from entering Russia
supposedly for a series of financial misdeeds. These supposed
misdeeds, as delineated in Moran's
Wikipedia page, include ethics and ethics-related criminal
allegations that have been dismissed by the House Ethics Committee,
the Virginia Attorney General, and the Federal Elections Commission.
Allegations of insider trading based on a 2008 briefing by the
Treasury Secretary and Federal Reserve chair do not appear to have
been investigated. There is no reason to believe that there was any particular wrongdoing by any of these bodies or offices; in fact, at least one of the allegations would not be illegal but, if true, would instead be an example of common, institutional corruption.
This might be the first time an American politician has been sanctioned by a foreign country for ethics violations (with or without a hearing). However, it is believed that the real reason for the ban, besides simply a tit-for-tat response to an American entry ban on certain Russians, was Moran's sponsorship of an amendment prohibiting the U.S. purchase of helicopters from a Russian state arms dealer that is alleged to have supplied the Assad regime in Syria.
But it's intriguing that Russia is at least posing as a protector of the American people against the misuse of office by their representatives for their own financial benefit. Will Russia next call for an international governmental ethics tribunal? Or will it take up every case the House Ethics Committee (or, for that matter, any state and local ethics commission) drops? Will the Speech or Debate Clause's "in any other Place" take on a new meaning?
I'm being facetious, because this isn't really about government ethics. But it does point to a problem with government ethics enforcement in the U.S., and especially in Congress. If the U.S. allows its representatives to get away with ethical misconduct, how can it criticize other countries for their corruption, and how can it not expect other countries to criticize it for its weak ethics programs, its weak ethics laws, and its failure to acknowledge that the Speech or Debate Clause was itself intended to be a government ethics provision, rather than a way to protect elected officials against government ethics enforcement?
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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This might be the first time an American politician has been sanctioned by a foreign country for ethics violations (with or without a hearing). However, it is believed that the real reason for the ban, besides simply a tit-for-tat response to an American entry ban on certain Russians, was Moran's sponsorship of an amendment prohibiting the U.S. purchase of helicopters from a Russian state arms dealer that is alleged to have supplied the Assad regime in Syria.
But it's intriguing that Russia is at least posing as a protector of the American people against the misuse of office by their representatives for their own financial benefit. Will Russia next call for an international governmental ethics tribunal? Or will it take up every case the House Ethics Committee (or, for that matter, any state and local ethics commission) drops? Will the Speech or Debate Clause's "in any other Place" take on a new meaning?
I'm being facetious, because this isn't really about government ethics. But it does point to a problem with government ethics enforcement in the U.S., and especially in Congress. If the U.S. allows its representatives to get away with ethical misconduct, how can it criticize other countries for their corruption, and how can it not expect other countries to criticize it for its weak ethics programs, its weak ethics laws, and its failure to acknowledge that the Speech or Debate Clause was itself intended to be a government ethics provision, rather than a way to protect elected officials against government ethics enforcement?
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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