House Democrats want an investigation into potential misconduct by its own members in connection with their dealings with the PMA Group.
The now-closed lobbying firm is under investigation by the Department of Justice and was raided by the FBI in November.
The House Wednesday voted 270-134 to direct its ethic committee to report back in 45 days “on the action the committee has taken” concerning potential misconduct by members in relation to PMA
On Friday, federal law enforcement officials issued grand jury subpoenas to the congressional office, campaign committee and employees of Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., for information and documents relating to their dealings with PMA. Visclosky is among a group of lawmakers including Reps. John Murtha, D-Pa., and Jim Moran, D-Va., who received hefty campaign contributions from PMA and its clients and who approved millions of dollars in earmarks for those companies. Several watchdog groups have called for the House ethics committee to investigate the three lawmakers to determine whether they were influenced by the campaign contributions.
The resolution was offered by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. Republicans for the most part voted against the resolution, saying that it lacked teeth because it does not require the ethics panel to actually do any investigating. Democrats may have had little choice in the wording of the resolution because the Justice Department frowns on Congress interfering with their own ongoing investigations. Typically, the ethics committee begins an investigation after law enforcement officials have concluded their work.
Republicans, however, viewed the resolution as a stalling tactic.
“This is a joke,” said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. “It is the tiniest speck of political cover from a Democratic leadership that has voted time after time to block a real investigation of PMA.”
