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Pasadena Congresswoman Judy Chu Reproached by House Ethics Committee

Published on Tuesday, December 16, 2014 | 5:59 pm
 

The House Ethics Committee has issued a public letter of reproval to local Congresswoman Judy Chu for interfering with its investigation into allegations her Chief of Staff and Legislative Director ordered members of Chu’s staff to perform campaign-related work using official resources on government time.

No fine was levied against Chu, however. In Congress, letters of reproval are the least severe form of sanction a committee can issue.

In its official report, the ethics committee said Chu’s Chief of Staff and Legislative Director was accused of requiring staff to “perform campaign-related work in the House office, during regular work hours” in June 2011.

The committee investigated these allegations and uncovered evidence Chu’s Chief of Staff and Legislative Director had indeed directed members of Chu’s staff “to perform campaign-related work using official resources on a sporadic and limited basis.”

It did not, however, “reveal any evidence Chu was aware of any improper use of official resources for campaign purposes. The committee did find that Representative Chu took actions that interfered with the Committee’s investigation of this matter,” and significantly delayed the committee’s investigation.

“Representative Chu interfered with the committee’s investigation by incorrectly advising two material witnesses … that the production of the memo did not involve improper use of official resources for campaign-related purposes — the very conduct the committee was investigating,” noted the report.

The committee also found Chu had sent inappropriate emails to these two staffers on how best to respond to the Ethics Committee’s investigation. It said Chu tried to interfere with the investigation through emails she sent to a staff member worried about the ethics investigation. It took Chu almost a year to send those emails to the committee but only after three requests to do so.

Chu immediately responded to the committee’s announcement by saying she apologized and acted “impulsively”. Part of her actions was due to the death of a nephew in a hazing incident.

“When my nephew died from military hazing, and there was virtually no punishment for the perpetrators, I was distressed and outraged. I directed my staff to send emails to my supporters to talk about the problem of military hazing,” she said.

She pointed out, however, that she “expressly made sure there was no fundraising or campaigning involved with any of these emails”.

Chu’s staffers sent these emails using her campaign account, however.

“While the Committee concluded that my staff sent the email from the wrong account, it acknowledged that I was not aware of this activity”.

“Regarding questions about my contact with a staff member, the evidence shows that I did so one time simply to confirm facts based on the official calendar. The Committee acknowledged that my intention was to ease the staff member’s anxiety and that I expressed regret for this one moment of contact.”

Despite her contrition, the committee said Chu’s expression of regret, “while commendable, does not overcome the need for a letter of reproval regarding her interference with the Committee’s investigation.”

The letter of reproval was signed by Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway, a Texas Republican, and ranking member Linda Sanchez (D-Cerritos).

SEE THE FULL REPORT HERE

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