UPDATE 2:23pm | The Huffington Post is reporting that Congresswoman Laura Richardson released a statement stating her belief that the investigation by the House Ethics Committee is racially motivated.
According to the Huffington Post, Richardson also said she would “explore the issue of whether the Ethics Committee has engaged in discriminatory conduct in pursuing two investigations against me while simultaneously failing to apply the same standards to, or take the same actions against, other members – of whom the overwhelming majority are white males.”
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UPDATE 12:30pm | The House Ethics Committee released their official statement this afternoon announcing they have formed an investigative subcommittee to “determine whether Representative Laura Richardson violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation, or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of her duties or the discharge of her responsibilities, with respect to alleged use of official House resources and personnel for work related to campaign activities and other non-official purposes.”
The statement is printed below:
In accordance with Clause 3 of House Rule XI and Committee Rules 14(a)(3) and 18, the Committee on Ethics (the Committee) unanimously voted on November 3, 2011, to establish an investigative subcommittee. Pursuant to the Committee’s action, the investigative subcommittee shall have jurisdiction to determine whether Representative Laura Richardson violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation, or other applicable standard of conduct in the performance of her duties or the discharge of her responsibilities, with respect to alleged use of official House resources and personnel for work related to campaign activities and other non-official purposes.
The Committee-initiated action follows a discretionary review of the allegations, pursuant to Committee Rule 18(a), authorized by the Chair and Ranking Republican Member of the Committee during the 111th Congress. Prior to any decisions made in the 112th Congress, in light of uncertainties related to the redistricting process in California, at her initiative Ranking Member Linda T. Sánchez recused herself from consideration of this matter to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. Representative Sánchez designated Representative John A. Yarmuth to act as Acting Ranking Member for purposes of this matter.
The Committee notes that the mere fact of establishing an investigative subcommittee does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.
Representative Charles W. Dent will serve as the Chair of the investigative subcommittee, and Representative John A. Yarmuth will serve as the Ranking Member. The other two members of the subcommittee are Representative Rob Bishop and Representative Ben Ray Luján. No other public comment will be made on this matter except in accordance with Committee rules.
UPDATE 5:00am | The Los Angeles Times is reporting this morning that the House Ethics Committee voted Thursday to move forward with an investigation into “whether Rep. Laura Richardson pressured her congressional staff to work on her campaign” which is a violation of the House’s standards of conduct. The punishment for the violations includes “reprimand, censure and expulsion from the House.”
A formal statement from the Ethics Committee is expected this morning.
According to the Times, “in a statement late Thursday, Richardson confirmed the panel’s action and accused it of “unjustly” targeting some members while overlooking the well-publicized misuse of official House resources for personal purposes by numerous other members of Congress.”
November 3, 4:07pm | Accordng to POLITICO, House Representative Laura Richardson is lobbying members of the House Ethics Committee in a last-ditch bid to avoid a formal investigation into allegations that she pressured her staff to engage in banned political activities while on her congressional payroll. Richardson has repeatedly denied that she is again being probed by federal investigators.
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Last month, the Long Beach Post reported that Richardson may face a “full-scale” investigation by the House Ethics Committee according to Politico, a Washington, D.C.-based newspaper citing “several sources close to the matter.” In March, a former Richardson district staffer spoke exclusively with the Press-Telegram about her letter that accuses Richardson of ethically questionable behavior.