Mar 2, 2006 -- The Detroit News: Ex-aides Again Claim Conyers Had Them Work on Campaigns
By Deb Price

WASHINGTON -- Two-year-old allegations that U.S. Rep. John Conyers violated ethics rules by demanding that congressional staffers work on political campaigns flared up again Wednesday.

The Hill, a newspaper that covers the U.S. Congress, reported that two ex-aides of the Detroit Democrat provided it with evidence of the alleged ethics violations in "letters, memorandums and copies of e-mail, handwritten notes and expense reports."

Conyers' attorney, Stan Brand, said: "These allegations have been responded to two years ago. If (the House Ethics Committee) had more questions, I would have heard back from them."

In April 2004, the secretive ethics committee launched an informal inquiry into the allegations, Conyers' attorney confirmed at the time. The allegations were raised in news stories that Conyers and top aides ordered staffers to work on local and statewide political campaigns in 2002 and 2003 while on government time -- including his wife's losing campaign for a seat in the Michigan Senate.

Since then, the ethics panel has not indicated whether it is still looking into the charges or didn't find enough credible information to launch a full investigation. Ethics violations can result in punishments ranging from a letter of reprimand to expulsion.

Deanna Maher, one of Conyers' former staffers reported on by the Hill, said Wednesday that she sent a new letter dated Jan. 13, 2006, to the ethics panel because she was offended that it appeared not to be taking any action.

" I could not tolerate any longer being involved with continued unethical, if not criminal, practices which were accepted as 'business as usual,' " she wrote in her letter about why she left as Conyers' deputy chief of staff in May 2005.

"I am not going away," Maher replied when asked why she had sent a new letter. "It has been a situation of standstill. I think (the ethics committee) is letting down the country."

Meredith McGehee, the policy director at the Campaign Legal Center, which advocates campaign finance and ethics reform, said the Conyers flareup highlights how the ethics system is a "lose-lose for everyone."

"If Conyers is innocent, he can't clear his name," McGehee said. "And if he's guilty, no one is doing anything about it and that's a disservice to the institution."