Dem
51
GOP
49
The House Ethics Committee, as it name suggests, is responsible for investigating rules violations by members, and recommending sanctions as apropos. Yesterday, news broke that the Committee is looking into potential ethics violations by one of the best-known members of the House, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
Beyond the existence of an investigation, little is known. Neither the Committee nor the Congresswoman are saying anything about what the issue might be, although Ocasio-Cortez did insist she will be cleared. Everyone in her shoes says that, of course, but in her case we're inclined to guess that she's right. By all indications, the Representative is quite ethical, particularly by politician standards. Further, she knows full well that she's under a very big microscope at all times, and that organizations like the right-wing American Accountability Foundation are always looking for something to use against her.
So, if our sense is that there's nothing to see here, why are we passing the news along? Well, first of all, we don't know that there's nothing to see here, we just suspect. On top of that, Ocasio-Cortez is one of those Democrats that many Republicans love to hate. So, even if this is much ado about nothing, we suspect this story will linger for quite a while. In particular, note that the Republicans are about to take control of the House, and that wannabe speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) & Co. are just itching for things to "investigate" with an eye toward embarrassing prominent Democrats. (Z)