WASHINGTON
Acting on a tip, a congressional ethics office wants lobbyists to turn over fundraising information on eight House members, including U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Democrat who represents North Carolina's 12th District.
Six of the members served on the Financial Services Committee that worked to overhaul the nation's financial regulations.
The Office of Congressional Ethics is conducting a preliminary review of the fundraising between Dec. 2, 2009, and Dec. 11, the day the House passed its version of the legislation. The bill, a sweeping rewrite of regulations that govern Wall Street, is now before a House-Senate conference.
A letter to the lobbying firms, obtained by The Associated Press and other news organizations, asks for information on Republican Reps. John Campbell of California, Jeb Hensarling of Texas, Chris Lee of New York, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma and Tom Price of Georgia. The three Democrats are Reps. Joseph Crowley of New York, Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota and Watt.
All except Crowley and Pomeroy are on Financial Services.
Watt, whose 12th District includes Winston-Salem, said in a news release last night that the ethics office is investigating several contributions to his campaign committee.
He declined to comment in detail about the investigation except to say he is confident that it will find that he had not violated "either the letter or the spirit of any laws or ethical standards."
"It's unfortunate that this has been leaked to the press, and that could leave the impression that there has been some impropriety," Watt said.
A spokesman for Hensarling, George Rasley, said that the ethics office told Hensarling that a source had claimed that the congressman's opposition to the regulatory legislation may have been influenced by political donations before the vote. Rasley said that the ethics office did not identify the source. The ethics office gave similar information to other legislators, officials said.
"Congressman Hensarling categorically denies any implication of influence and looks forward to clearing-up this false charge," Rasley said. Other legislators also denied wrongdoing.
The ethics office declined to comment.
The letter to lobbyists asks for information on individuals who attended fundraising activities and made campaign contributions, along with any related written documents.
The preliminary review determines whether a full investigation will be initiated. However, the ethics office, run by a board of nonlegislators, can only recommend actions to the House ethics committee, which decides whether legislators violated standards of conduct.
The House version of the financial-regulation bill passed without any Republican support. Republicans had long objected to the legislation, with none considered fence-sitters in the days leading to the final vote. Democrats Watt, Crowley and Pomeroy all voted for the legislation.
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