Panel May Probe Pelosi's Actions in Massa Affair

In a development reminiscent of an investigation four years ago when the parties’ roles were reversed, House Republicans last week sought to force the ethics committee to examine the circumstances leading to its probe of former Rep. Eric Massa, D-N.Y. (Massa resignation, CQ Weekly, p. 569)
On March 11, Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, offered a privileged resolution (H Res 1164) demanding the ethics committee investigate whether Democratic leaders knew about allegations of sexual harassment against Massa, who quit March 8. After Massa’s resignation, the committee closed its probe, noting that it had lost jurisdiction once he left the House.
Majority Whip James E. Clyburn, D-S.C., quickly moved to refer Boehner’s resolution to the ethics committee, saying the matter “properly belongs” before that panel. The House then voted 402-1 to send the resolution to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as the panel is formally known.

Read more: (Meghan McCarthy, “Panel May Probe Pelosi’s Actions in Massa Affair,” CQ Weekly, 03/13/10)