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Senior Member
- May 30, 2006
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Mollohan, Jefferson Cases Hamper Democrats' Attacks (Update1)
By Kristin Jensen and Laura Litvan
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- House Democrats' efforts to capitalize on what they call a Republican-created ``culture of corruption'' in Washington are being complicated by ethical allegations against two of their own members.
Representative Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, until April the ranking Democrat on the House ethics committee, said yesterday he is reviewing his financial disclosures after being accused of misstating personal assets. Fellow Democrat William Jefferson of Louisiana vowed to stay in office and fight allegations that he accepted bribes.
Democrats have focused on Republican scandals as they try to regain control of Congress amid sagging approval ratings for President George W. Bush and congressional Republicans.
The ethics problem ``seems to transcend party affiliation,'' said Amy Walter, House editor of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan Washington newsletter. ``An overwhelming focus on this corruption issue feeds into the negative stereotype that voters have about Congress, which is that it's just one side trying to score points off the other.''
A statement issued by Mollohan, 63, said he is ``confident in the fundamental accuracy'' of his financial statements. Jefferson, 59, declared his innocence at a news conference in New Orleans yesterday, almost two weeks after an associate pleaded guilty to bribing him.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=al8N5W9kMSBk&refer=us
By Kristin Jensen and Laura Litvan
May 16 (Bloomberg) -- House Democrats' efforts to capitalize on what they call a Republican-created ``culture of corruption'' in Washington are being complicated by ethical allegations against two of their own members.
Representative Alan Mollohan of West Virginia, until April the ranking Democrat on the House ethics committee, said yesterday he is reviewing his financial disclosures after being accused of misstating personal assets. Fellow Democrat William Jefferson of Louisiana vowed to stay in office and fight allegations that he accepted bribes.
Democrats have focused on Republican scandals as they try to regain control of Congress amid sagging approval ratings for President George W. Bush and congressional Republicans.
The ethics problem ``seems to transcend party affiliation,'' said Amy Walter, House editor of the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan Washington newsletter. ``An overwhelming focus on this corruption issue feeds into the negative stereotype that voters have about Congress, which is that it's just one side trying to score points off the other.''
A statement issued by Mollohan, 63, said he is ``confident in the fundamental accuracy'' of his financial statements. Jefferson, 59, declared his innocence at a news conference in New Orleans yesterday, almost two weeks after an associate pleaded guilty to bribing him.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=al8N5W9kMSBk&refer=us