Q. I have a question about investigations
by the Office of Congressional Ethics. I've read stories about
OCE investigations of members where it appeared that the OCE used a
witness's refusal to cooperate with the investigation against
the member being investigated, even though the member had no
control over the witness's refusal to cooperate. This made no
sense to me. Why should a member be penalized for someone
else's refusal to cooperate with an investigation?
A. This is a great question, as it has come up
in several recent investigations and goes right to the heart of the
authority of the OCE, which the House created in 2008 to review and
filter complaints of misconduct by House members and staffers to
determine if they warrant referral to the House Ethics
Committee.
