Richardson Accused of Using Official Government Office for Political Campaign, Mistreating Pregnant Disabled Veteran
Richardson Accused of Using Official Government Office for Political Campaign, Mistreating Pregnant Disabled Veteran
Resigning Richardson Staffer Says She Would “Rather Be at War in Afghanistan than Work Under People Who Are Morally Corrupt”
SPIN CYCLE: Then-Speaker Pelosi Promised that Democrats Would “Demand the Highest Ethics from Every Public Servant”:
“Our goal is to restore accountability, honesty and openness at all levels of government. To do so, we will create and enforce rules that demand the highest ethics from every public servant, sever unethical ties between lawmakers and lobbyists, and establish clear standards that prevent the trading of official business for gifts.” (Nancy Pelosi’s “A New Direction for America,” Page 21)
RINSE CYCLE: Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA) Blasted for “Harassment, Bullying, and Abuse” Towards a Pregnant Disabled Veteran and Using Official Government Office for Political Campaign:
In an explosive resignation letter, a disabled veteran and aide to Rep. Laura Richardson told the California Democrat that she’d “rather be at war in Afghanistan” than continue working for the congresswoman and accused a senior staff member of engaging in improper political activity on government time.
Brenda Cruz, who worked at Richardson’s office through the Wounded Warrior Program, wrote that Richardson and the senior staffer mistreated her during and after her pregnancy, forcing Cruz to conclude she had to leave the office for her own health and that of her child.
More important to a sprawling House Ethics Committee investigation into Richardson, Cruz alleges the congresswoman used her staff for political purposes. Cruz writes that she, herself, unwittingly engaged in political activity and that a senior staffer routinely and openly worked on Richardson’s reelection effort and other political campaigns while in Richardson’s district office. House aides may work on political campaigns but only outside of congressional offices and on their own time, and no government resources can be used in these efforts.
The House Ethics Committee, which is investigating whether Richardson and her aides improperly used official resources for campaign activities, is now in possession of a copy of Cruz’s March 9 letter, multiple sources told POLITICO.
….
Cruz’s letter is a twin hit for Richardson. On the ethics front, it represents yet another former aide accusing Richardson and her top staffers of crossing the line between official business and barred political activities.
And from a political perspective, Richardson now has to contend with the allegation that she mistreated a pregnant disabled veteran who was part of an official House program to help find employment for folks who served in the military.
“I would have preferred to work here until my two-year fellowship with the Wounded Warrior Program was finished but your constant harassment, bullying, and abuse toward me … has become more than I can take,” Cruz wrote.
“As a service connected-disabled veteran it is sad to say that I [would] rather be at war in Afghanistan then work under people that are morally corrupt. I have a child to think about now, and my son needs his mother to be healthy and happy.”
Cruz also aimed at the heart of the Ethics Committee investigation into whether Richardson improperly used congressional aides and resources for political and personal purposes.
“[U]nder your direct instructions I was relegated to be your receptionist and unknowingly, to illegally work on your campaign by assisting with packets to influence the California Redistricting Commission, when I should have been fully focused on helping my fellow veterans and the backlog of cases you have in your district,” Cruz wrote. She also accused the senior staffer of engaging in phone conversations and personal-account email exchanges about campaign issues while at work.
….
The chief administrative officer of the House runs the Wounded Warrior Program, in which qualified disabled veterans are hired to work in lawmakers’ offices for two-year stints with a possibility of being hired as full-time employees at the end of the program.
Cruz became pregnant while working for Richardson and wrote in the letter that the lawmaker “began to question my ‘work production’ on the first day after I returned from maternity leave, even though all of my evaluations with the Wounded Warrior Program, filled out by your Casework Manager, prior District Director and current Chief of Staff, show consistently high satisfaction from both the constituents and my supervisors.”
Richardson has been a repeated target of ethics probes since she was first elected to the House in 2007. The Ethics Committee announced in November that it had created a special investigative panel to look into allegations that Richardson used “official House resources and personnel for work related to campaign activities and other non-official purposes.”
The probe began following public claims in March 2011 from another former Richardson aide, Maria Angel Macias, that Richardson and some of her top aides routinely asked staffers to do political work on government time. (Jonathan Allen and John Brenahan, “Ex-Richardson Aide: Rather Be at War,” Politico, 3/25/12)
To read the entire story, click here.