Thursday, October 29, 2009 8:38 AM

Ethics Matter Referred To House Panel

• "Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson, embarrassed by a foreclosure dispute back home in California, may soon find herself the subject of a House ethics committee investigation," Politico reports. "Sources tell POLITICO that the Office of Congressional Ethics has referred Richardson's case to the House ethics committee, which will be required to announce within days whether it's going to pursue a full investigation. Richardson's case is one of three OCE referrals the committee will consider Thursday. The others -- both previously reported -- involve Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.)."

• "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is facing mounting pressure to intervene in an intense dispute between an outside ethics office she pushed through the House and the full ethics committee," The Hill reports. "Board members and senior staff of the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) are threatening to resign if the ethics committee doesn't meet a deadline the OCE believes is critical to its role, according to several sources within the ethics community."

• "Dozens of lobbyists were invited to a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser Tuesday night with a Cabinet member even though President Barack Obama has sworn off taking money from lobbyists," The Hill reports. "A DNC official said it was a mistake that lobbyists were invited to a small gathering with Lisa Jackson, Obama's administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The official said a review of attendees indicates that no lobbyists attended the event."

• The affair of Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., "has had a devastating effect on his political fortunes, but it's also taking a huge toll on the coterie of Senate aides, K Street lobbyists and political operatives who hitched their star to a man once thought to be a future leader of the Republican Party," Politico reports.