Pat Dollard

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CQ Politics:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended her party’s record on ethics Thursday, insisting that her 2006 vow to “drain the swamp” did not mean that ethical violations by Democrats would be eliminated.

Pelosi said her campaign season pledge referred to efforts to police and eliminate close ties between the former Republican majority and lobbyists. “The swamp was described as a criminal syndicate operating out of the Republican leader’s office,” she said referring to former Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas, (1985-2006).

Pelosi declined during a weekly news conference to comment on specific allegations facing Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., who faced a public reading later Thursday of charges brought by a House ethics subcommittee.

She said the handling of the investigation against Rangel — the former Ways and Means chairman — shows allegations of wrongdoing are being probed regardless of the party affiliation of the accused lawmaker.

“The process will work,” Pelosi said. “It’s bipartisan. And the chips will have to fall where they may, politically. But upholding the highest ethical standard is a top priority.”

A panel of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct was scheduled to lay out publicly the allegations facing Rangel and set the schedule for a trial of sorts on the charges.

Pelosi said Democrats stiffened disclosure requirements and tightened restrictions on lawmakers’ links to lobbyists with enactment of a lobbying overhaul law.

“This was a terrible place. We made a tremendous difference. And I take great pride in that,” Pelosi said, adding, “There are going to be individual issues to be dealt with, yes. I never said that there wouldn’t be, but that we would have a process” to deal with allegations of wrongdoing.

Pelosi said ethics violations by members of Congress “are not right” and that allegations against individual members must be probed. “They must be judged. And there must be accountability. And there much be transparency,” she said.