WASHINGTON - In case you missed it, this week the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight held the first-ever congressional hearing with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). OCE was established in 2008 to independently review allegations of misconduct against House members, officers, and staff.
Witnesses:
Mr. Paul Vinovich - Chairman, The Office of Congressional Ethics
Mr. Mike Barnes - Co-Chair, The Office of Congressional Ethics
Mr. Omar Ashmawy?- Staff Director and Chief Counsel, The Office of Congressional Ethics

Top Takeaways:
  • The head OCE staffer has an alleged history of unethical conduct yet has continued to be reappointed by the Board.
  • Ashmawy admits his behavior has been inappropriate while holding this position.
  • Formal oversight of the OCE is necessary to ensure they are fulfilling their intended purpose while also holding their own staff to high ethical standards.
1. The head OCE staffer has an alleged history of unethical conduct yet has continued to be reappointed by the Board.

Rep Loudermilk: "A few years ago you were involved in a bar brawl and then in October 2022, you drove a car while intoxicated, crashed into someone's porch, hit a stop sign and two parked cars. Is that correct? ... Is it correct that you were driving intoxicated, crashed the car into a front porch, and two parked cars?"

Ashmawy: "I was in an accident following having alcoholic beverages."


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Representative Morgan Griffith (VA-09): "In 2015, Politico wrote a story about how the OCE leaked a confidential report to the Washington Post and Politico. Politico magazine wrote that they leaked the report because the Ethics Committee told them to cease the investigation, refer the matter to the Ethics Committee instead, something that was within the Ethics Committee's power to do. Mr. Ashwamy, what did your investigation show? Who was the leaker?... Have you ever found anybody who released information that was confidential, before it was released?"

Ashmawy: "No, not by our office."
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Rep. Griffith: "Does your office have subpoena power?"

Ashmawy: "We do not."

Rep. Griffith: "Then why is it my understanding, from several sources, that you have told witnesses that you will have to subpoena them if they don't answer the questions?" 

Ashmawy: "We definitely have not done that because we have no authority to do that." 

Rep. Griffith: "So if somebody has told me that, they're also in error?"

Ashmawy: "It may have been told to them, which is accurate, is that if they do not cooperate with our review, a recommendation can be made to the Committee on Ethics that the Committee on Ethics subpoena them in the related matter."

Rep. Griffith: "So if I find witnesses who say that that has happened, you will take disciplinary action against the staffer?"

Ashmawy: "I would bring it up to the board and we would investigate it."
Click the image or here to view Representative Griffith's full Q&A.
2. Ashmawy admits his behavior has been inappropriate while holding this position.

Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) [On Ashmawy's alleged "bar brawl" that led to contact with law enforcement]: "But you did use your official email to correspond with Pennsylvania law enforcement prosecutors, correct, as previously noted?"
 
Ashmawy: "And other individuals, yes."
 
Rep. Steil: "And so as we look at that independent counsel found that your actions were improper. Do you agree with the outside investigator that your emails could easily be viewed as intimidating?"
 
Ashmawy: "I certainly would not have said that at the time. I don’t take any issue with the ultimate conclusion by the investigator."
 
Rep. Steil: "So, not at the time but looking back, you view that your emails could have been viewed as intimidating?"
 
Ashmawy: "I see why he came to that conclusion. And take no issue with it."
Click the image or here to view Chairman Steil's full Q&A.
Representative Laurel Lee (FL-15): "One of your answers related to the extent that you have violated any ethical rules yourself during that time, it was inadvertent and not a purposeful thing, is that correct?"

Ashmawy: "If you're referring to the use of email after my assault, I thought I was within the bounds of the rules, it turns out I may not have been and I accept responsibility for that."

Rep. Lee: "So as we sit here today, you would acknowledge that some of that conduct during that time did in fact run afoul of some of the rules that would govern your conduct."

Ashmawy: "It certainly was determined that way, to be that way."

Rep. Lee: "Would you also agree, sir, that your function, as your role in this process and in this committee, is in fact to be the subject matter expert on what the rules of professional conduct are, that govern things like that? Is that not the type of thing that you assess when it comes to people who are the target of these allegations that come before your committee?"

Ashmawy: "It is part of my job."
Click the image or here to view Representative Lee's full Q&A.
3. Formal oversight of the OCE is necessary to ensure they are fulfilling their intended purpose while also holding their own staff to high ethical standards.

Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Barry Loudermilk (GA-11): "Mr. Vinovich, you said something interesting in your opening statement. You said 'People will behave differently if they are being watched all the time.' Now it's interesting that this is the first-ever hearing of oversight of your office. Could it be that this office hasn't been watched is the reason that we're having to ask these types of hard questions today of the chief staff member?"

Vinovich: "I can't say that I'm surprised that these questions are being raised, whether they're raised in a public or private forum. We understood at the time that this was a problem, the decision the board made to retain him was not something that we came to quickly. We understand that this is a serious matter, and we took it seriously." 

Rep. Loudermilk: "Just going off of your statement, that people will behave differently if they're being watched all the time, and to me it seems like this office that sits over in the O'Neill building that the only time we ever heard from it is when the office is coming after one of us." 

...

Rep. Loudermilk: "How important is it for the staff of the OCE to be held to the same ethical standards as members of Congress and Congressional staff?"

Barnes: "It is very important."
Click the image or here to view Chairman Loudermilk's full Q&A.

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