GEF @ 6:08 AM MST
Rep. Don Young is looking at a world of trouble right now. He is accused of illegally adding a $10 million dollar earmark to a 2005 transportation bill after it had been signed off on by the House and Senate. And that has made Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, fighting mad. Howie has more:
Barbara Boxer chairs the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, which is a pathetic joke. David “Diapers” Vitter? Nothing, although he publicly admitted breaking the law. Ted Stevens? Nothing, although the FBI and several other agencies have been searching his home in conjunction to a widespread corruption conspiracy that has tainted most of the Alaska GOP (including his son Ben). Pete Domenici? Nothing, even though he used his position as a senator to threaten a U.S. Attorney and attempted to force him to take on a punitive political role and, failing that, conspired with Heather Wilson, Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove and others to fire the upright Justice Department official. Larry Craig? Next to nothing, although he actually pleaded guilty to a crime. The Senate certainly takes care of its own; and really well. Remember all those senators who were taking bribes from Jack Abramoff? Well Abramoff is in prison. Not one senator has even been admonished.
That isn’t to say Boxer doesn’t do anything regarding ethics. In fact, right now she’s trying to figure out how to go after Alaska’s arch-criminal Don Young on ethics charges. No, I don’t mean arch-criminal, Senator Ted Stevens; I mean Congressman Don Young. She’s promises to figure out a way of making this constitutional– she’ll fail– since the House takes care of its own ethical lapses (or doesn’t) and the Senate… well the Senate is supposed to watch it’s own 100 miscreants.
