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Mar 10, 2010

Pete Sessions: The Patron Saint of Ethics?

Democrats raised serious alarm about Representative Pete Sessions’ new-found focus on ethics in Washington in light of his long record of backing disgraced and indicted Wall Street financiers, using his influence to slip unjustified earmarks for lobbyists who are former staff into the budget and, recently, his supporting John McCain’s primary challenger against criminal charges related to the Jack Abramoff scandal. Sessions even held a fundraising event at a Las Vegas strip club with casino executives and payday lenders.

“Pete Sessions talking about ethics in Congress is like Tiger Woods talking about fidelity,” said Jesse Ferguson, Southern Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Sessions stood behind an indicted Madoff-esque swindler who contributed to his campaigns, he used his power in Washington to steer earmarks to former staff and just last week, we learned that he is backing up John McCain’s primary challenger in his efforts to avoid prosecution as part of the criminal scandal surrounding Jack Abramoff. Sessions has his fundraising base in Las Vegas strip clubs so it’s unlikely anyone’s going to ask him for a lesson on congressional ethics.”

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Pete Sessions Ethics Greatest Hits

• Sessions held a fundraising event at a Las Vegas strip club for his leadership committee, joined by casino executives and payday lenders at Forty Deuce nightclub, located in the Mandalay Bay Restort. [NPR, 7/22/08]

• “Just hours after federal agents charged banker Allen Stanford with fleecing investors of $7 billion, the disgraced financier received a message from one of Congress' most powerful members, Pete Sessions. ‘I love you and believe in you,’ said the e-mail sent on Feb. 17. `If you want my ear/voice -- e-mail,’ it said, signed ‘Pete.'' [Miami Herald, 12/27/2009]

• Earlier in the year, Sessions came under fire for steering a $1.6 million earmark for dirigible research to a company with no experience in government contracting or building blimps. The company hired a former aide to Sessions to lobby on their behalf. [Politico, 7/30/2009]

• Recent national publications have highlighted Session’s potential vulnerability in his re-election [The Hill, 2/4, Roll Call, 1/27].  Sessions’ opponent had more fundraising success in the fourth quarter of 2009 than nearly ½ of the top supported Republican candidates from the National Republican Congressional Committee which Sessions’ chairs. [The Hotline, 2/3/10]

• Sessions has received $44,375 from Stanford and his staff and participated in foreign trips with Stanford. [Miami Herald, 12/27/2009; Talking Points Memo, 12/28/2009]

•  “House Republican leaders met with more than 100 lobbyists at the Capitol Visitors Center on Tuesday afternoon to try to fight back against financial regulatory overhaul legislation.” [Roll Call, 12/8/2009]

• “Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is using J.D. Hayworth’s legal trust to hammer his primary opponent about his entanglement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. […] Earlier, The Hill reported that Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) was among other senior GOPers who gave to Hayworth’s trust.. [The Hill, 3/4/10]

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