Congressional Ethics office reviewed 23 complaints in first quarter of 2010

The Office of Congressional Ethics has reviewed 23 inquiries into members conduct so far this year, according to the office’s quarterly report.

In just a year and a half since its founding, the OCE has reviewed complaints against nearly 11 percent of House members.

{mosads}The Office, which reviews potential ethics rules violations and recommends further investigation by the full House ethics committee, opened 25 inquiries in 2009. Of the new investigations this quarter, the OCE reported ending 18 probes after the preliminary review stage, a step that prevents disclosure of any information related to the members and the complaints against them.

The members under investigation are only revealed if the OCE recommends further review by the ethics panel, which is made up of members of Congress and a staff of lawyers and investigators.

Of the seven cases the OCE continued to investigate after further review, it only recommended further action by the ethics committee in one case so far, bringing its total to 13 cases the office has referred for more investigation since its inception. Six other cases are under a second phase OCE review.

The one case forwarded to the ethics committee focused on allegations that former Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.), a candidate for governor, far exceeded House limits on earned outside income and used his staff to help maintain a stream of income from a no-bid state business deal.

Deal resigned his House seat an hour after he voted no on the healthcare reform bill March 21. The next day was the deadline for the ethics committee to determine whether it should issue a report. The OCE’s board of governors voted unanimously to release its report and did so March 29.