Jun 7, 2006 -- Justice Department Investigation of Chairman Oxley's Ties to Freddie Mac Scandal Urged by Campaign Legal Center

The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has asked the United States Department of Justice to investigate a series of potential violations of federal criminal law by Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH) relating to illegal fundraising activities by Freddie Mac. In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Assistant Attorney General Alice Fisher of the Criminal Division, CLC urged the Justice Department to look into Rep. Oxley's involvement in the Freddie Mac scandal that resulted in the largest fine ever leveled by the Federal Election Commission.

Freddie Mac recently paid a $3.8 million fine to settle a complaint that it illegally used corporate treasury funds to sponsor fundraisers that raised nearly $3 million dollars for Members of Congress. The vast majority of the 85 fundraising events benefited Chairman Oxley at a time when legislation was pending before his committee that was opposed by Freddie Mac. The legislation never made it to Chairman Oxley's full committee, despite the support of the subcommittee chairman for the legislation.

The investigation request to the Justice Department noted the lack of response from House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and the House ethics committee to a letter from the Legal Center requesting a Congressional investigation of Chairman Oxley's potential violations of criminal statutes and House ethics rules.

The full letter to the Department of Justice is below.

June 7, 2006

The Honorable Alberto R. Gonzales
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Alice Fisher
Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Criminal Division
950 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. Attorney General and AAG Fisher:

Enclosed is a copy of a letter that the Campaign Legal Center sent to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, regarding the conduct of Representative Michael Oxley (R-OH), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, in his dealings with Freddie Mac. A copy of this letter was also subsequently mailed to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

Published reports raise serious questions as to whether Chairman Oxley may have violated criminal laws, including potential violations of The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) which forbids "any candidate, political committee, or other person knowingly to accept or receive any [corporate] contribution." 2 U.S.C. §441b(a). The facts also lend themselves to questions about possible violations of 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(2)(A) and 18 U.S.C. § 201(c)(1)(B) dealing with bribery.

To our knowledge, no action has been taken on this matter.

Because these allegations potentially constitute serious violations of federal criminal law, we are accordingly referring this matter to you and urge you to take all appropriate action.

Sincerely,

J. Gerald Hebert
Executive Director
Director of Litigation

Meredith McGehee
Policy Director

cc: Chief, Public Integrity Section

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