Saturday, March 06, 2010

E-mails show link between campaign contributions, earmarks

A study of e-mails investigated by a Congressional ethics committee shows a link between campaign contributions and earmarks.

The documents were part of an investigation into the actions of seven Congressmen. Naturally, the ethics committee found all seven were innocent of any wrongdoing. From the Washington Post article:

An investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics uncovered dozens of examples of lobbyists and corporate officers expressing their belief that donations would help them. The OCE declined to share or discuss the documents reviewed by The Post. An OCE spokesman said such records would not be made public unless they directly linked donations with lawmakers' official acts.

(The OCE had recommended clearing five of the members and continuing to investigate two others, Reps. Peter J. Visclosky [D-Ind.] and Todd Tiahrt [R-Kan.]. The more senior House ethics panel cleared all seven.)

"These are hard-nosed business people," said Sarah Dufendach of Common Cause. "They are used to getting value for their dollar. The reason they keep investing their money this way is because over and over again it's proven to work for them."

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