The Democrats are going to be really good at outrage the next four years. If it hadn't yet sunk in just how much they screwed themselves in the 2016 elections, it just got very clear.[T]he Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) [...] was set up after a lobbying scandal in 2008 to investigate corruption allegations against members of Congress.
[...]
Former congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham, a California Republican, served more than seven years in prison on bribery and other charges.
Ohio Republican congressman Bob Ney pleaded guilty to corruption charges and a Louisiana Democrat and former congressman, William Jefferson, was convicted on corruption in a separate case.
[...]
[This year, an] amendment was voted through by the House Republican conference over the New Year’s holiday with no prior notice or debate and inserted in a broad rules package the House will vote for on Tuesday [...] putting [the OCE] under their own control, in a secret ballot hours before the new Congress convened for the first time. [...] It turns the formerly independent OCE into the Office of Congressional Complaint Review, a subordinate body to the House Ethics Committee, which is currently run by the Republican majority and has a long history of overlooking charges of malfeasance by lawmakers.
[...]
The new body will not be able to receive anonymous tips from members of Congress or make its findings public.
[...]
The rules package to be voted through on Tuesday [...] will [also] limit the ability of the Democratic minority to block legislation.
[...]
The House Republican vote triggered a wave of outrage from Democrats and government ethics specialists.
Guardian
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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