Questions Raised on Top Ethics Dem Linda Sanchez’s Own Ethical Standards

SPIN CYCLE: Pelosi Once Promised to Sweep Corruption out of Washington:

“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: Top Ethics Dem Hand-Picked by Pelosi Leaves Major Gaps in Disclosure:

California Rep. Linda Sanchez, the top Democrat on the Ethics Committee, failed to report mortgage details and a home-equity line on financial disclosure forms required under congressional rules, raising questions about her role as one of the top lawmakers policing ethics and financial issues for the House.

Sanchez did not reveal a mortgage on a home in Lakewood, Calif., which she has owned since 1999. As part of her financial disclosure reports from 2006 on, Sanchez declared annual rental income on the property between $2,500 and $5,000, but she never disclosed a mortgage on the home. Under House ethics rules, once a member earns income from a property, any liabilities against that property must be reported.

California real estate records also indicate Sanchez, along with her mother, took out a $200,000 mortgage on the property in 1999. Sanchez, who remarried in 2009, later sold the home to a trust she controlled with her then-husband and purchased it back following their divorce.

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Sanchez also has other holes in her financial disclosure forms. She failed to disclose for more than two years a royalty agreement related to a book she co-wrote with her sister, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), who has never declared the same royalty agreement on any of her disclosure reports. An aide to Linda Sanchez said the California Democrat never received any money from the book.

In addition, Sanchez appeared to violate the terms of her mortgage on a Capitol Hill condo by renting out the unit in 2009. A document Sanchez signed as part of her 2005 mortgage agreement on the condo — purchased from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) — barred her from leasing it to another party. The mortgage documents, along with real estate records and financial disclosure forms filed with the House, were reviewed by POLITICO for this report.

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But Sanchez’s appointment to the committee was troubling to ethics watchdogs. POLITICO reported that Sanchez’s chief of staff, Adam Brand, is the son of Stan Brand, lead attorney in the ongoing ethics investigation of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). The Waters case is the most high-profile matter currently before the committee. (Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan, “Gaps revealed in Sanchez disclosure,” Politico, 2/25/11)

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Top Ethics Dem Linda Sanchez Leaves Major Gaps in Disclosures, Ethics Watchdogs Consider her Appt “Troubling”
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