Melanie Sloan Quotations

The only way to get an FOI request honored these days is to go to court. We can go to court and win, but some regular person is not going to know how to file a complaint in federal court and prepare a brief arguing that the administration is in violation of the law. And no one has endless resources to fight every denial. It's very effective, what they've done. They keep the information hidden.

I think it's a little too cozy. It's not an uncommon practice, but it is a concerning one.

I think they both have been cleared here.

Rep. Johnson abused the public trust by using the power of his office to harass an organization which had taken a position with which he disagreed. Such actions are specifically prohibited by federal law and ethics rules and the House ethics committee should immediately commence an investigation into Rep. Johnson's disgraceful conduct.

Rep. Jefferson's conduct shows a blatant disregard for the rule of law and the integrity of the House of Representatives. We urge a member of the House to ignore the long-standing ethics truce and file CREW's complaint with the House Ethics Committee today.

Republican culture of corruption. There are so many corrupt members of Congress. By no means are all of the problems gone.

Particularly in the House, the progress is very slow and may end up with very little reform.

starting to undermine the prosecutor by implying that he's only going to be able to indict on technicalities.

Lobbying reform is going more the enforcement route. What's that going to do? Nothing much.

Lobbying is cost-effective only for those who can pay for lobbyists. Those with an opposing view won't be heard as well as those with lots of money.

It doesn't seem to me that someone should get a tax deduction while they're writing public relations memos about how people should be able to smoke in restaurants.

That's because there's an ethics truce. Both parties will deny this, but there is in fact a truce that's been in existence since 1998. And under the terms of the truce nobody will file a complaint against a member of the other party.

The problem is, they don't want to enforce the ethics rules, and they don't have any interest in enforcing ethics rules.

Why did Sen. Frist suddenly decide to sell the stock in June after holding the stock for so long? Also, did the Senator order the sale based on insider knowledge that the value of the stock was about to decline precipitously?

Without oversight or enforcement, rule changes are virtually meaningless.

You have to have power to abuse it. You would be foolish to give money to a Democrat because they wouldn't be able to deliver anything.

Special interests do get more and they do get what they pay for despite the constant denial that lawmakers can't be bought,

An indictment is just the first step in the ever-evolving scandal involving Abramoff and the GOP Leadership. Now, Rep. Ney has some explaining to do. Given that Rep. Ney knew enough about SunCruz, Adam Kidan and Gus Boulis to insert comments about them in the Congressional Record, the House ethics committee should find out what else Rep. Ney knew about Abramoff's illegal activities.

That, to me, would be special treatment that he doesn't really deserve.

This is going to be one of the biggest congressional scandals ever.

The way that they've presented it makes it look more independent than it in fact is, and that's misleading.

They should be nervous. It won't be long before Bob Ney is indicted. It will probably take a little while longer for them to build their case against Tom DeLay.

A man who lives in a $1.1 million mansion in Washington does not intend to move into an 814-square-foot cottage that he's rented out since 1997.

It's a reform bill in name only, and they're hoping no one will notice.

It is outrageous that outsiders can't file complaints, since Congress has demonstrated its unwillingness to police its own conduct.

It is scandalous that our government is still trying to cover up its breathtakingly inadequate response to the greatest natural disaster in our nation's history.

It is time for our representatives to take their constitutional obligation to police themselves seriously, an obligation that members of both political parties have ignored to the detriment of the American people.

It's breaking house rules which prevent a member from using travel funds for anything but their own travel. And it breaks federal Election Commission law, which requires that only campaign funds be used for campaign expenses.

No matter what level of corruption the members of Congress engage in, the ethics committees do nothing. It's a national embarrassment.

not only has Sen. Frist likely engaged in illegal activity, he has also been attempting to cover up his actions by suddenly finding a conflict of interest that he never before recognized. Sen. Frist would be wise to consider Martha Stewart's case as he continues down this path.

If rooting out corruption in the House of Representatives is truly a priority for both parties, then we ask a member, any member, to put their money where their mouth is and file this complaint against Acting House Majority Leader Roy Blunt. We urge members to end the ethics 'truce' and cease abdicating their responsibility to police the conduct of their colleagues.

He really lobbies for clients, although they don't call them clients. He will lobby for those who have made contributions.

The House has completely abdicated its constitutional responsibility to police itself. There is still no member of Congress, in either party, willing to file an ethics complaint.

The House Ethics Committee doesn't look at anything.

The members can't afford it. The people who are most interested in their campaigns are people with interests in Washington.

The little trust Americans had in Congress will once again be destroyed by greedy and unscrupulous members of Congress that care more about their skybox seats and golf trips than upholding the law.