Considering that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) slandered philanthropist George Soros on national television, an Ethics Committee investigation seems like the least Congress could do. Soros got the ball rolling yesterday.
Billionaire philanthropist George Soros has asked the House ethics committee to investigate House Speaker Dennis Hastert over comments suggesting that Soros could be receiving money from illegal drug groups.
“This kind of insinuation — that a private United States citizen was in league with drug cartels and may be receiving funds derived from criminal activity — has no place in public discourse,” Soros wrote Tuesday to the chair and top Democrat on the panel, Reps. Joel Hefley, R-Col., and Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va.
In almost every instance, the House Ethics Committee does not act unless it receives a formal complaint from a member of Congress. It’s not unusual for outside citizens and groups to contact the Committee and urge lawmakers to initiate a probe, but it’s usually not enough. With this in mind, Soros’ letter will probably need to receive support from a Dem lawmaker who was just as outraged as Soros was.
That may not be quite as easy as it sounds. Hastert may be a nut, but he is the Speaker. Lawmakers may be hesitant to challenge him directly in such a confrontational way. This isn’t to say Hastert shouldn’t be the subject of an ethics investigation — I believe he should — only that there may be some hesitation on the part of the Dems.
In the meantime, Hastert has offered a half-hearted defense of his slanderous remarks. Initially, his office would only say that the Speaker stands by the accusations that Soros has been funded by narcotrafficers.
More recently, however, Hastert argued that he was misunderstood. When he suggested that Soros was receiving “overseas [money] from drug groups,” he meant groups that advocate for the reform of criminal drug laws, such as the Drug Policy Foundation and the Open Society.
Of course, Hastert’s explanation is absurd and nonsensical — Soros gives money to these groups, not the other way around.
What’s worse, as Slate’s Jack Shafer explained, Hastert has not only been dishonest in his attacks on Soros, he’s been incoherent in trying to explain his way out of the controversy created by his remarks.
Let’s review Hastert’s comments: 1) We don’t know where Soros’ money comes from. 2) Sorry, we do know where some of it comes from! Some comes from overseas. 3) It could be drug money. 4) Sorry, again. We don’t know where it comes from.
Hastert may sound like a confused, gibbering fool who blurted out something he’d like to take back. But an experienced politician such as Hastert doesn’t say something this stupid and outrageous twice by accident. Hastert has purposely painted an ambiguous backdrop against which he can shrewdly slander his political foe Soros. Who will he smear next?
I’m not optimistic that House Republicans will do their duty in this matter — do they ever? — but I am glad to see this story stay alive.