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Taiwanese officials refuse cooperation, Roskam cleared

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The U.S. House Ethics Committee Friday closed the investigation into Rep. Peter Roskam’s 2011 trip to Taiwan after months of review without recommending disciplinary actions. […]

Roskam and his wife took the $25,000 trip paid for by the Chinese Culture University in Taipei. The Wheaton Republican argued during the probe that the committee had signed off on the trip in advance and his office followed the rules.

The Ethics Committee report Friday said it was “inconclusive” whether the university was a “proper sponsor,” and it couldn’t compel testimony to get the information it needed to make that call. The investigation was closed because there was “insufficient evidence to show that Rep. Roskam’s travel was improper.”

The report says trips paid for by “money-only” sponsors that don’t participate in the planning can be improper but that “the Committee cannot determine whether CCU’s involvement in both trips was significant enough for CCU to be considered a legitimate sponsor.”

* Tribune…

While the committee said that Roskam had fully cooperated, it noted that Taiwanese officials with information “material” to the review had refused to help the committee sort out the matter.

* Politico…

Under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act, foreign governments are allowed to pay for such trips. However, a lawmaker cannot accept travel expenses for a spouse or family member.

The Roskams’ daughter was also staying in Taiwan at that time, and OCE noted that the Roskams sought to include her as part of their itinerary for the $24,000-plus trip.

Roskam strongly denied any improper or unethical behavior, and he went as far as signing a waiver to allow the Ethics Committee to turn over to OCE the documents and materials used for vetting the trip. The Ethics Committee did not respond to OCE’s request for those materials.

* Back to the Tribune…

The trip’s itinerary evolved between the June email and the October trip. But Roskam’s post-travel disclosure report to the House described two days of meetings with government officials and four days of sightseeing.

The Ethics Committee report said that “the rationale of having ‘leisure’ or ‘quality time’ with one’s family in ‘a very nice resort area’ as discussed in the background on the trip is not a permissible, officially connected purpose for privately sponsored travel, and if committee staff had been aware of that connection and intent, additional questions would have been asked, at least.”

But the report also stated: “The mere fact that his wife and daughter were with him does not diminish the value of the fact-finding activity or make the activities impermissible.”

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 11:45 am

Comments

Where do I sign up for fact-finding activities? They’ve valuable, as the House Ethics Committee makes clear, although they don’t specify for whom that value would reside the most.

I can find facts as well as Roskam, and I wouldn’t be distracted by my wife or daughter being present, but that would be nice.

Comment by PublicServant Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 11:52 am
Junkets paid for by foreign governments or their cutouts are troubling.

If facts need to be found so desperately, charge it to the taxpayer in whose interests you’re working.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 12:10 pm
My kid is studying in Spain, I wish a “Proper Sponsor” would pay for me to go see her?
Oh, I forgot that’s just for Members of Congress.

Comment by Are Ya Kiddin' Me? Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 12:14 pm
PublicServant, Peter Roskam is also a public servant and as such his ethics are subject to the same rules as all of us. Equal. Just that some public servants are more equal then others. If someone at the US attorney’s office wanted to “get him” they would be all over him by now.

Comment by DuPage Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 12:17 pm
=== he went as far as signing a waiver to allow the Ethics Committee to turn over to OCE the documents and materials used for vetting the trip. The Ethics Committee did not respond to OCE’s request for those materials. ===

The Ethics Committee vets the trip in advance, then refuses to cooperate with the OCE investigation?

Looks like it’s more than just the Taiwanese officials refusing cooperation.

Bizarre.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 12:43 pm
The Ethics Committee cleared him. After easily winning re-election this non-issue started in. Next election his opponent will be talking about an ethical cloud hanging over his head still unresolved. Then he wins again.

Comment by Toure's Latte Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 2:50 pm
Am I wrong to not particularly care about this? As long as he isn’t doing anything quid pro quo for this I don’t really see a big problem with it.

Comment by Demoralized Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 3:03 pm
Demo, to me, taking sweet vacations from foreign governments or their cutouts who seek to influence U.S. foreign policy — whether through aid, trade deals, arms sales, etc. — is an issue.

Roskam isn’t a poster boy, by any means. Taiwan is certainly a big hitter.

If it’s necessary to travel for “fact-finding” put it on the public dime, those you are representing.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 3:08 pm
==If it’s necessary to travel for “fact-finding” put it on the public dime, those you are representing.==

I’m sure using public money would also elicit a negative response from some.

If he were found to have done something in exchange for the trip I would be right there with you. I just don’t see it as a big deal unless somebody comes up with something.

Comment by Demoralized Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 3:44 pm
=== Am I wrong to not particularly care about this? ===

The fact that he vetted the trip with the Ethics Committee beforehand pretty much clears everything up, at least to me.

It sounds as though he went to the ethics committee, asked them to vet a trip he already thought was ethical to take, and then took that trip after they cleared it.

You cannot reasonably fault the guy for double-checking with the ethics committee in advance and then following their guidance.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 4:10 pm
I was so happy to be redistricted out of Roskam’s domain. If only he could have stayed in Taiwan permanently.

Never ever forget that he is the man who accused disabled Iraq veteran Tammy Duckworth of following a “cut and run” strategy in Iraq. That’s the kind of quality guy Roskam is and will always be. Now free vacations for all the Roskams!

Comment by DuPage Dave Monday, Nov 18, 13 @ 6:21 pm
At the end of the day, I don’t think this is a big deal; however, I’m sorry to see someone as smart as Peter Roskam get caught up in this mess. He makes too much money as a trial lawyer to be squeezing foreign governments for the opportunity to visit his daughter on somebody else’s dime.

Comment by LincolnLounger Tuesday, Nov 19, 13 @ 9:27 am