Today CREW is taking Congressman Vito Fossella to task for his lack of ethics as a Congressman and thereby, a human being. Vito has been getting back into public life lately, but he shouldn't expect a free pass just because he has "learned his lesson." What Fossella has done is a ridiculous laundry list of screw ups that disqualifies him from public office.
From The Daily Politics:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington announced today it sent an ethics complaint against Rep. Vito Fossella to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct seeking an investigation into whether he violated any travel rules and/or the prohibition on conduct that reflects badly on the body.
"Given that the committee will already be consider Rep. Fossella's criminal conduct, the committee should take the opportunity to consider whether, by using taxpayer funded travel to pursue his romantic relationship with Lt. Col.Fay, Rep. Fossella violated House travel rules and the prohibition against conduct that does not reflect creditably on the House," CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan wrote."The committee should consider not only the trips previously reported, but also should investigate whether Rep. Fossella availed himself of other unreported congressional delegation travel opportunities in order to conduct his illicit affair...At the very least, Rep. Fossella should be require to reimburse the Treasury for the costs of his travel"
CREW knows it has no shot at getting the Committee to do anything, since one action would lead to 435 or more others. Ethics, credibility and accountability still have little say in the House of Representatives. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule but for the most part, those things are sorely lacking.
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