-By Warner Todd Huston
New reports suggest that Chicago Congressman Luis Gutiérrez (D, ILL) is likely expecting to be charged with ethics violations in Washington.
USA Today reports that Gutiérrez has already spent some $30,000 in legal fees in preparation of defending himself from charges of ethics violations and no violations have yet been filed. It seems clear that the Congressman is sure they are on the verge of being filed.
Even with no investigation announced, in January the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) noted that at least one question over the Congressman’s actions was being held for consideration after the Illinois primaries (Election Day is March 18).
Naturally, Gutiérrez is refusing to make any statements on this matter–and that is probably a good idea since the whole matter is completely up in the air at this time.
The ethics violation investigation that Gutiérrez may face concerns his payments with tax dollars to a lobbyist.
In August, Gutiérrez paid $7,500 from his campaign account to attorney Andrew Herman, who worked for the Brand Law Group, a Washington firm that specializes in “protecting and defending the rights of witnesses involved in government investigations.” According to Federal Election Commission records, over the next several months, Gutiérrez paid over $18,000 more to Herman, then in February paid an additional $3,100 to a law firm called Miller Chevalier–where Herman had moved his practice in the fall. In the 2011-2012 election cycle, Gutiérrez reports to the FEC showed no legal fees at all.
In any case, if Gutiérrez has already spent a whopping $30 grand on representation in anticipation of being charged with an ethics violation, it is sure that he is betting on charges being filed.
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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, Wizbang.com, among many, many others. Huston has also appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN, and many local TV shows as well as numerous talk radio shows throughout the country.
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