Rep. Jerry Lewis still clinging to his Appropriations seat
By Kirstin Ellison
Posted on Mon Apr 30, 2007 at 04:40:31 PM EST
If you thought Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) would eventually cave to pressure and follow in the steps of Reps. Doolittle (R-CA) and Renzi (R-AZ) by stepping down from his important committee seats...think again. Lewis is holding fast:
Rep. Jerry Lewis will not leave his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, despite a call for him to step down over the almost yearlong criminal investigation into his dealings with a prominent lobbying firm linked to disgraced former Rep. Randy Duke Cunningham, R-Rancho Santa Fe.
Describing the investigation as "trumped up," Lewis, R-Redlands, said during an interview this week in his Washington office that he has the backing of Republican leadership.
A federal grand jury issued subpoenas last May to a variety of agencies, cities, and counties seeking information about Lewis' ties to a lobbying firm. Then the investigation quieted down, and stayed under the radar until the recent raids on Reps. Doolittle and Renzi brought the issue of leadership and corruption back to the forefront.
Now, amid new calls for him to step down as ranking member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Lewis is citing House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-OH) support as his reason for not capitulating:
Seeking to repair the Republican Party's image, its leaders have espoused a zero-tolerance policy with regard to allegations of corruption, leading Doolittle and Renzi to vacate their committee seats.
But GOP leaders have not asked Lewis to step down because his situation is considered different from that of Doolittle and Renzi. He has not been subject to the same level of scrutiny, said a Republican aide who asked not to be named because his statement went beyond information the party had made public.
"Raids of a member's home or business cannot be the new standard for what compels a member to step down from a committee post," [CREW executive director Melanie] Sloan said.
I second that - despite the fact that we got two raids on Congressmen within days of each other, they're really quite rare. Now, the investigation into Lewis' affairs may or may not come to anything, but it's hard to believe the sincerity of House GOP leadership when they talk about zero tolerance while maintaining the double standard represented by Jerry Lewis. The Appropriations Committee is too powerful an entity to play games with - especially when the man in question is a) the ranking member, and b) under investigation for abusing his position as Chair of that committee.
Tags: Jerry Lewis, Ethics in Government, House Appropriations Committee (all tags)
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