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Gold9472
10-30-2009, 08:22 AM
House members under ethics inquiry: report

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE59T0FN20091030

Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:35am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nearly half the members of a House of Representatives panel in control of Pentagon spending are under scrutiny by ethics investigators in Congress, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

Investigations by two separate ethics offices include an examination of Representative John Murtha, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on defense, and six other lawmakers and their relationships with an influential lobbying firm, the newspaper said.

The lawmakers helped steer millions in federal funds to clients of PMA Group and have received campaign contributions from the firm and its clients, the Post said.

The lobbying firm, founded by a former Capitol Hill aide, has been under criminal investigation by the Justice Department, the Post said.

Details of the House ethics inquiries were included in a confidential House report obtained by The Washington Post, the newspaper said.

According to the document prepared in July, more than 30 lawmakers and several aides have come under scrutiny in House ethics inquiries about issues including defense lobbying and corporate influence peddling, the Post reported.

The 22-page "Committee on Standards Weekly Summary Report" gives brief summaries of ethics panel investigations of the conduct of 19 lawmakers and a few staff members, the newspaper said.

The ethics committee is one of the most secretive panels in Congress, and its members and staff members sign oaths not to disclose any activities related to its past or present investigations, according to the newspaper.

Ethics committee chairman, Zoe Lofgren, said the document had been accidentally released by a low-level staffer through a file-sharing network, the newspaper said.

The article said Lofgren's statement also said: "No inference to any misconduct can be made from the fact that a matter is simply before the committee."