(Washington, D.C.) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes corruption, today announced the release of a special report, “Foley Scandal Fallout: Ethics in Congress.”  Judicial Watch’s report includes an analysis of an educational panel held at the National Press Club and broadcast on CSPAN-2.  Panel members included Charles Hurt of The Washington Times; Stephen Hess of The Brookings Institution; Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch President; Chris Farrell, Judicial Watch Director of Investigations and Tim Burger of Time magazine. 

According to the introduction, “Ultimately, the issue of corruption made the difference in the mid-term elections, as Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the majority of the governorships all in one night.”

Among the highlights of Judicial Watch’s special report:

• In his opening remarks, Chris Farrell noted the breadth of the Foley scandal’s relevance, saying that, “Under Speaker Hastert, we’ve seen Congressmen embroiled in some pretty amazing scandals... These were enormous scandals that are corrosive.  They undermine the government’s ability to function and they undermine the public’s trust in Congress.”
   
• Stephen Hess commented on the bipartisan nature of the corruption problem.  “There is no party that has a monopoly on corruption,” Hess noted.  “These are not Democrat or Republican [scandals]; these are Democrat and Republican.”
   
• Tim Burger suggested that a certain amount of cowardice impedes the process of holding members to account. “Members of Congress are afraid to file [ethics complaints] because they don’t want to be responsible for causing a new partisan avalanche…”
   
• Suggested remedies to Capitol Hill corruption focused on transparency and accountability.  Charles Hurt reference a bill recently signed into law by President Bush that will “take all the spending that goes on in Congress, put it in a massive database, and put it on the Internet…”  This type of government transparency, Hurt contended, could provide a remedy for rampant corruption on Capitol Hill.

“The Foley scandal was a bipartisan embarrassment and a sorry example of a Congress unwilling to hold its members and staff to account for misconduct,” said Tom Fitton, Judicial Watch President.  “The American people are sick and tired of politicians looking the other way while their colleagues commit crimes and ethical transgressions.  Corruption was the key factor in the change of power on Capitol Hill.  Only time will tell if members of Congress have learned any lessons.”

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