DEMOCRAT DIRTY LAUNDRY: Richardson Reacts to Ethics Investigation with More Potential Violations

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: Laura Richardson (D-CA) Knew Existing Ethics Investigations Were Hurting Her Electoral Prospects, so She Reacted by Allegedly Making Congressional Staffers do Even More Campaign Work for Her:

Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson instructed taxpayer-funded House aides to work on political redistricting last year, sources familiar with the situation told POLITICO.

Such activities could amount to a violation of prohibitions against lawmakers pressuring aides to do political work, as well as rules against using official resources, including staff, for campaign purposes.

The redistricting work, which has not previously been disclosed, allegedly occurred after it became clear Richardson was under investigation over another set of allegations that she forced House aides to perform political and personal tasks in violation of House rules. Richardson did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Sources told POLITICO that Richardson’s congressional aides collected information about communities outside her district, organized a workshop to train constituents in advance of a public meeting of California’s independent redistricting commission, and wrote talking points for those constituents to deliver during the public-comments portion of the meeting at Long Beach City Hall in April 2011.

The redistricting work was done at Richardson’s direction — rather than on a voluntary basis — these sources said.

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Yet staff members were sometimes assigned to do work under the auspices of official government activity that they later found out was for a political end, the sources said.

Late last year, Richardson was ready to admit to some of the ethics charges against her, but the Ethics Committee rejected her offer and launched a full-scale investigation, the second time she has come under official scrutiny.

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In addition to the question of whether Richardson acted improperly with regard to redistricting, sources told POLITICO that she has used her government-leased car for personal and political business. A Google Maps search of her home in Long Beach turns up a picture of a GMC Terrain in her driveway. That’s the make and model of the car she leases at taxpayers’ expense, according to sources who spoke to POLITICO. It’s impossible to know for certain that the car in the driveway is hers, but she does not own a personal car, these sources said.

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But in combination with the questions over her use of staff for redistricting work, the latest Richardson revelations spell trouble for a lawmaker already facing a serious political challenge in 2012.

The panel already is looking at allegations that Richardson and top aides pressured other staffers to work on her reelection campaign and that staff were forced to do personal errands for their boss in violation of House rules. In a March 2011 letter, Maria Angel Macias, then a district-office scheduler for Richardson, resigned from her job, citing the strain from “repeated emotional abuse” and multiple requests to “do a task or coordinate an event that was on the ethical borderline and not in my job description.” (Jonathan Allen and John Bresnahan, “Laura Richardson’s ethics woes mount,” Politico, 2/13/12)

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Richardson Reacts to Ethics Investigation with More Potential Violations http://ow.ly/93YZg #demdirtylaundry #madeinwdc