by Scott Hinderaker
This past February the New York Times ran an intriguing story by Eric Lipton and Eric Lichtblau on the fundraising prowess of the Congressional Black Caucus. The story described the activities of the CBC and suggested that the CBC’s fundraising prowess might involve some shady dealings. It was an eye-opening story.
This week the Times followed up with a story on the efforts of 20 members of the CBC to restrict the powers of the independent ethics office that has spent much of its first full year investigating accusations of wrongdoing among black caucus members. The Times reported that CBC member Marcia Fudge had introduced a resolution co-sponsored by 19 other CBC members to prohibit the release of most investigative reports prepared by the Office of Congressional Ethics. The resolution also provided that the OCE was to be prevented from initiating its own inquiries, unless a sworn complaint was filed by an individual with personal knowledge of the alleged wrongdoing.
