Ethics Investigators in Congress Increasingly Run Into Walls

The democratic bargain is that all citizens, especially representatives in government, must comply with the rule of law and the democratic process and its outcome. Sadly, lawmakers under scrutiny are increasingly unwilling to cooperate. This article by Luke Broadwater is published by The New York Times. Here is an excerpt:

In 2009 and 2010 — the first Congress scrutinized by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which was created in 2008 — three lawmakers refused to cooperate with the office’s 68 investigations, a noncooperation rate of just 4 percent.

This year, six out of 14 House lawmakers under investigation have refused to participate — a rate of 43 percent, the highest on record.

Mr. Ashmawy said he believed the higher noncooperation rate was a result of investigators focusing on fewer cases, and more potentially serious ones. Lawmakers who may be glad to meet with ethics investigators to clear up an honest mistake or minor oversight are more reluctant to cooperate if they think they may face weightier consequences, he said.

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