Using the word "ethics" to be federal crime

AROUND THE BLOCK

News with a Twist

 House Republicans vote to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics

Next step is sending a bill to Trump banning the word “ethics”

The New York Times reported today that House Republicans, defying their top leaders, voted Monday to significantly curtail the power of an independent ethics office set up in 2008 in the aftermath of corruption scandals that sent three members of Congress to jail.

The move to weaken the Office of Congressional Ethics was not public until late Monday, when Representative Robert Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced that the House Republican Conference had approved the change with no advance public notice or debate.

In its place, a new Office of Congressional Complaint Review would be set up within the House Ethics Committee, which before the creation of the Office of Congressional Ethics had been accused of ignoring credible allegations of wrongdoing by lawmakers.

The move by House Republicans comes hours after a bipartisan group of ethics advocates lobbed a second letter to President-elect Donald Trump on Monday evening warning him that he needs to do more to separate himself from his family business interests.

The signers conclude with a tough warning: “Respectfully, you cannot serve the country as president and also own a world-wide business enterprise, without seriously damaging the presidency.”

In a move to tamp down the ethical controversy, Around the Block has learned that House Republicans will send a bill to President-elect Trump on his first day in office that will officially remove the word “ethics” (and certain synonyms including, “morals,” “principles” and “integrities”) from all dictionaries and dictionary websites as well as making writing or saying the word “ethics” a federal crime, punishable by a $500 fine and up to two years in jail.

The Trump transition team indicated that although Mr. Trump doesn’t use a dictionary himself, he understands how certain words can be harmful and should be banned. It is understood that among those words, “ethics” is at the top of his list. A transition team member said that President Trump he will sign the bill when it crosses his desk.