NEWS AND COMMENT


NEWS

WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 — The House ethics committee said Friday that a nine-week investigation into former Representative Mark Foley's conduct had found that Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders were negligent in not shielding teenagers from inappropriate advances by Mr. Foley. But the panel also concluded that neither Mr. Hastert nor other officers of the House had violated any House rules, and recommended no sanctions for their failure to stop Mr. Foley’s conduct. (NY Times)

COMMENT

A fitting end to this deplorable Congress. If ignoring the risk to young pages for years is not a violation of House ethics rules, something is seriously wrong. Either the rules are hopeless lenient or the members of the Ethics Committee are hopelessly insensitive or incompetent. Maybe all of these members should now check in to a rehab.

What is clear is that the House cannot be trusted to investigate itself. We need that independent commission.