Actually, the headline should read: Dems play hardball and win.
Just days after media outlets started reporting that congressional Dems were threatening to break a truce over ethics complaints, House Republicans caved and announced that the Ethics Committee will investigate allegations that Rep. Nick Smith (R-Mich.) was offered a bribe in November in exchange for his vote on Bush’s Medicare bill.
Roll Call reported today that the Ethics Committee had initiated an “informal fact finding” effort two months ago after Smith’s bribery charges first surfaced. That’s an odd claim to make at this point. Just two weeks ago, Ethics Committee Chairman Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) said he had no intentions of investigating the matter because, as he put it, “the committee has little to go on.” Now, the same committee is suggesting a preliminary investigation began in December. Something’s not kosher here.
Then again, it doesn’t really matter, so long as the incident is being looked at. This not only keeps the story alive, it brings us one step closer to knowing who, exactly, offered Smith bribes on the House floor. (Next step: indictments!)
And, of equal importance, it reminds congressional Republicans that the Dems aren’t fooling around. Hastert, DeLay, and company were counting on the Dems to get over their concerns and to let the story fade away. The Dems stood their ground, insisted the Ethics Committee take action, and the GOP caved under pressure. Excellent.
The bad news is we may not be hearing details about this again anytime soon. Hefley and Ethics Committee ranking member Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.) said in a statement, “Under Committee rules our fact finding activities are conducted on a confidential basis, and no further public comment will be made in this matter except in accordance with committee rules.”
Let’s hope for a leak or two to keep us up-to-date.