Democrats' Countrywide Hypocrisy: No Hearings on Industry Scandals
Speaker Pelosi & Other Dems Demanded Hearings on Lawmaker Links to Industry Scandals... When They Were in the Minority
Washington,
Jun 19, 2008 -
The Republican-led Congress conducted bipartisan hearings and investigations following scandals at Enron, WorldCom, and other corporate entities during the early part of this decade, in part to address public concerns about the possibility of unethical links between high-powered lawmakers and the powerful interests they were charged with overseeing. But the Democrat-controlled 110th Congress has no such track record. Under Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who once ironically pledged to “drain the swamp” in Washington, the House has stood flatfooted as scandals have erupted involving the trial lawyer industry and possible sweetheart deals between senior Democrats and mortgage lending giant Countrywide.
Speaker Pelosi and her committee chairs have refused to hold even a single hearing on the illegal kickback scandal that has embroiled the powerhouse trial lawyer firm formerly known as Milberg Weiss, despite assertions by the firm’s former chief (a major Democratic donor now serving a two-year prison sentence) that the criminal acts his firm engaged in are an “industry practice.” And this week, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) stated he has no plans to hold even a single oversight hearing to look into special “VIP” housing perks that Countrywide gave powerful congressional Democrats at the same time it was hiking mortgage rates on American families. House Republican leaders have formally requested bipartisan hearings on both matters.
Rep. Pelosi and others once said Congress had an obligation to hold oversight hearings to restore public confidence in the wake of major industry scandals, regardless of who might get burned. But that was then; this is now. Now settled into their majority, senior congressional Democrats have lost all traces of the investigatory zeal they demonstrated during the dark days of Enron and WorldCom. Instead they’re thumbing their noses at calls for oversight hearings on industry scandals involving the trial lawyer industry and Countrywide.
A look back at what now-Speaker Pelosi and other top Democrats said just a few years ago on the politically-tinged scandals at Enron and WorldCom:
- “Enron clearly raises the suspicions of the American people about the connection between political contributions and public policy.” – Rep. Nancy Pelosi (“Democrats force House to vote on campaign funds; Enron’s actions help assure vote on halting ‘soft money,’”San Francisco Chronicle, Marc Sandalow, January 25, 2002).
- “I think there should be hearings. Republicans won’t have hearings.” – Rep. Nancy Pelosi on the WorldCom collapse (CQ Daily, June 26, 2002, “WorldCom Scandal Shakes Up Senate Calendar, Summer Politics,” Emily Pierce, Susan Ferrechio and Keith Perine).
- “We can’t sit here sanctimoniously and browbeat Enron and Arthur Andersen executives and question every decision that made if we’re not willing to give the same scrutiny to ourselves, and the Bush Administration and the Clinton Administration. And if we don’t examine how the political system broke down, the public will see through us and that, in truth, will only deepen cynicism.” – Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), House Financial Services Committee hearing on Enron collapse, February 6, 2002.
- “A group of House Democrats today asked House Republican leaders to hold hearings to determine if there were any improper relationships between Enron Corp. executives and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission officials. In a letter sent to House Speaker Hastert, House Minority Whip Pelosi, Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Reps. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., and Bob Filner, D-Calif., said ‘the American people deserve to know whether or not FERC has been doing its job and protecting consumers or whether it has been influenced by Enron to do otherwise.’ The lawmakers, who did not reveal any specific links between the embattled company and the energy regulators, asked for hearing[s] in the Government Reform and the Energy and Commerce committees.” (Mullins, Brody; National Journal’s CongressDaily, “House Dems Ask Hearings On Enron, FERC Connections,” June 18, 2002)
- “We can’t say anything [about the Enron scandal] until we know what the facts are. But the facts -- some of the facts that we know are these: We know that Enron gave a huge amount of money, over $6 million over a period of time, to elected officials. . .Whether there is a crime connected there remains to be seen, but I think that we cannot dispose of the issue until we have the facts.” – Rep. Nancy Pelosi, CNN’s “Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields,” February 16, 2002.
- “The group’s startup was funded through a large contract [secured from] Enron. . .The image and integrity of Congress have been called into serious question. To restore public faith in Congress, the institution must initiate a careful examination of how corrupt practices have influenced the legislative process. Understanding what went wrong is a prerequisite to accountability and reform.” – Letter from House Minority Leader Pelosi, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and Rep. Henry Waxman seeking congressional investigation of Alexander Strategy Group; Pelosi press release, January 25, 2006.
Scandals involving the trial lawyer industry and Countrywide have shaken confidence in our institutions at a time when our economy can ill afford it. But in both cases, the House Democratic leadership has put its own political interests above those of the American public. It’s hypocritical, and it’s wrong.
