Most Corrupt Members of Congress 2008

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington creates an annual report on the most corrupt members of Congress. The 2008 list included:

• Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) is a first-term member of congress representing Florida’s 13th district. His ethics issues stem from pressuring his employees to make contributions to his campaign committee and improper use of corporate resources for campaign purposes.
• Ken Calvert (R-CA) is a seventh-term member of Congress, representing the 44th district of California. His ethics issues stem from his use of earmarks for personal gain and his connections to a lobbying firm under investigation. Rep. Calvert was included in CREW’s 2006 and 2007 reports on congressional corruption.
• Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA) is an ninth-term member of Congress representing California’s fourth congressional district. Rep. Doolittle’s ethics issues stem from his wife’s relationship to his campaign and political action committees, as well as campaign contributions and personal financial benefits he accepted from those who sought his legislative assistance. Rep. Doolittle is currently the subject of a Department of Justice investigation and was included in CREW’s 2006 and 2007 reports on congressional corruption. In January 2008, Rep. Doolittle announced his intention to retire from congress at the end of his current term.
• Rep. Tom Feeney (R-FL) is a third-term member of Congress, representing Florida’s 24th congressional district. Rep. Feeney’s ethics violations stem from his relationship with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and three trips he took in apparent violation of House travel and gift rules. Rep. Feeney was included in CREW’s 2005, 2006, and 2007 congressional corruption reports.
• Rep. Vito Fossella (R-NY) is a sixth-term member of Congress, representing New York’s 13th congressional district. Rep. Fossella’s ethics issues stem from a drunken driving incident and improper official travel. As a result of the incident, Rep. Fossella announced he would not seek re-election in 2008.
• Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA) is a ninth-term member of Congress, representing Louisiana’s second congressional district. Rep. Jefferson’s ethics issues, for which he has now been indicted, stem from his business dealings and his misuse of federal resources. Rep. Jefferson was included in CREW’s 2006 and 2007 reports on congressional corruption.
• Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is a second-term senator from Louisiana. Her ethics issues stem from inserting an earmark into an appropriations bill to benefit a large campaign donor.
• Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) is a 15th-term member of Congress, representing the 41st district of California. Currently the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, his ethics issues stem primarily from the misuse of his position as chairman of the committee to steer hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks to family and friends in direct exchange for contributions to his campaign committee and political action committee. Rep. Lewis was included in CREW’s 2006 and 2007 reports on congressional corruption.
• Rep. Dan Lipinski is a second-term member of Congress representing Illinois’ 3rd congressional district. Rep. Lipinski’s ethics issues stem from the outside employment of a top Washington D.C. congressional aide.
• Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is a fourth-term member of the senate. He is the Minority Leader in the 110th Congress and sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. McConnell’s ethics issues stem from earmarks he has inserted into legislation for clients of his former chief of staff, lobbyist Gordon Hunter Bates, in exchange for campaign contributions as well as the misuse of his nonprofit The McConnell Center for Political Leadership at the University of Louisville. Sen. McConnell was profiled in CREW’s 2007 congressional corruption report.
• Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) is a fifth-term member of Congress, representing the 42nd district of California. His ethics issues stem from his relationship with Lewis Operating Company and the sale of property. Rep. Miller was included in CREW’s 2006 and 2007 reports on congressional corruption.
• Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV) is a 13th-term member of Congress, representing the first district of West Virginia. His ethics issues stem from misusing his position to benefit himself, his family and his friends and misreporting a dramatic increase in his personal assets. Rep. Mollohan was included in CREW’s 2006 and 2007 reports on congressional corruption.
• Rep. Timothy F. Murphy (R-PA) is a fourth-term member of Congress, representing Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district. Rep. Murphy’s ethics violations involve his misuse of official resources for political campaign activity. Rep. Murphy currently is the target of a Department of Justice investigation.
• Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) is an 18th-term member of Congress, representing Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district. Rep. Murtha chairs the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. Rep. Murtha’s ethics violations stem from abuse of his position on the subcommittee to benefit the lobbying firm of a former long-term staffer and from threatening to block earmarks of other members for political purposes. Rep. Murtha was included as a member to watch in CREW’s 2006 and 2007 reports on congressional corruption.
• Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM), is a third-term member of Congress representing the 2nd district of New Mexico. Rep. Pearce’s ethics issues stem from his failure to properly report a transaction on his financial disclosure report and from trading legislative assistance for campaign contributions. Rep. Pearce was included in CREW’s 2007 congressional corruption report.
• Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) is 15th-term member of the House of Representatives representing New York’s 15th district. Rep. Rangel’s ethics issues stem from leasing rent controlled apartments, improperly using congressional stationary and failing to disclose rental income on his personal financial disclosure forms.
• Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) is a third-term member of Congress, representing Arizona’s 1st congressional district. Rep. Renzi’s ethics issues stem from misusing his position on the House Resources Committee to force a company to purchase land from his business partner for his personal financial benefit and misappropriating insurance premiums and diverting the money into his campaign account. Rep. Renzi was included in CREW’s 2005, 2006 and 2007 congressional corruption reports. As a result of the investigation, in August 2007 he announced that he would be retiring at the end of his current term. He was indicted by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona on February 21, 2008 on 35 counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, extortion and insurance fraud.
• Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) is a 14th-term member of Congress representing Kentucky’s fifth congressional district. Rep. Rogers is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and its former chair, where he was responsible for the $41.1 billion Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget. Rep. Rogers’ ethics issues stem from misuse of his position to steer millions of dollars in earmarks to campaign contributors, including a company that employs his son. Rep. Rogers was profiled in CREW’s 2007 report on congressional corruption.
• Ted Stevens (R-AK) is a seventh-term senator, representing Alaska. Sen. Stevens is the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and sits on several other Appropriations subcommittees. Sen. Stevens’ ethics issues stem from his ties to the VECO Corporation; earmarks he has inserted for companies that paid his son, Ben Stevens; his relationship with his brother-in-law, lobbyist William Bittner; his relationship with Alaskan real estate developers Jonathan Rubini and Leonard Hyde; and the activities of his non-profit, The Ted Stevens Foundation. Sen. Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 29, 2008 on seven counts of making false statements. Sen. Stevens was included in CREW’s 2007 congressional corruption report.
• Rep. Don Young is an 18th-term member of the House of Representatives, representing Alaska at-large. Rep. Young served as Chairman of the House Resources Committee from 1994 to 2000 and as the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2000-2006. Currently, Rep. Young serves as the ranking member of the House Resources Committee.
• Rep. Young’s ethics violations stem from the misuse of his position to benefit family and friends and from steering millions of dollars in earmarks to corporations in exchange for contributions to his campaign committee and political action committee, Midnight Sun PAC (MSPAC). Rep. Young is currently under four separate federal investigations including an investigation into his role in securing a $10 million earmark for a road in Florida, assistance he offered to recently convicted VECO executive Bill Allen, his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his financial relationship with recently indicted businessman Dennis Troha. Rep. Young was included in CREW’s 2007 congressional corruption report.

To read the entire report, click on Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and four to watch). To read previous years reports, click on CREW’s Most Corrupt Members of Congress.