As seen in Roll Call:
No documents provided by House Members or their offices were among the evidence that the Office of Congressional Ethics forwarded to the Justice Department this week from its probe into lawmakers’ ties to the now-defunct PMA Group lobbying firm, a knowledgeable source confirmed Friday.
The OCE announced Thursday that it would to share “certain evidence” from its investigation with the Justice Department, citing questions over whether campaign donations were used in an attempt to influence the appropriations process…
“The OCE clearly has the authority to refer matters to the Justice Department. But it must do so judiciously,” said attorney Elliot Berke, who represented Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) in an unrelated OCE investigation, which the ethics committee ultimately dismissed. “Now that it has actually set this precedent, it may have a chilling effect on parties who otherwise would have cooperated with the office.”
“Remember, the OCE does not have the ability to compel testimony,” Berke added. Unlike the ethics committee, the OCE does not have subpoena power and receives all interviews and documents on a voluntary basis.
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