Ethics | featured news

Rep. Charles Rangel, the influential chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, was publicly admonished by the House ethics panel Thursday for taking trips to the Caribbean that were paid for by private corporations.

The South Carolina Ethics Commission has charged Gov. Mark Sanford with 37 counts of violating state ethics laws, according to a complaint released by the commission on Monday.

The Senate Select Committee on Ethics has closed its inquiry into Roland Burris, clearing the Illinois lawmaker of any legal wrongdoing.

Last month a study from the credit reporting agency Experian and consulting outfit Oliver Wyman estimated that close to a fifth of troubled mortgages involved borrowers who were "strategically" defaulting--walking away from mortgages they could pay but decided not to because they owed more than their houses were worth. Self-assigned guardians of financial ethics see the willingness of borrowers to abandon their mortgage debts as a sign of the "erosion of social and moral standards." The aim of these critics is to shame debtors into sticking with their mortgages.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin steps down Sunday giving few clues about her political future, which has been clouded by ethics probes, mounting legal bills and dwindling popularity.

A few things are known: She is scheduled to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, and has said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast and build a right-of-center coalition.
She also plans to continue speaking her mind on the social networking site Twitter.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is rejecting allegations she broke state ethics laws by letting supporters set up a legal defense fund for her.

An independent investigator has found evidence that Gov. Sarah Palin may have violated ethics laws by accepting private donations to pay her legal debts, in the latest legal distraction for the former vice presidential candidate as she prepares to leave office this week.

Governor says new ethics complaint against her for allegedly taking money for interviews warrants new state ethics policy.