Ethics Panel Admonishes Sen. Tom Coburn

Source: ABC OTUS News

Ethics Panel Admonishes Sen. Tom Coburn
By Sunlen Miller | ABC OTUS News – 2 hrs 2 mins ago.

The Senate Ethics committee has slapped the hand of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK., for engaging in communication with an ex-aide of the disgraced former Sen. John Ensign.

The committee said there was "improper conduct" between the Coburn and ex-Ensign aide Doug Hampton, by violating the Senate rule which bars contact on legislative matters within the first year of a staffer's departure.

"The Committee found that you met with Mr. Hampton on official business even though you had reason to know that he was legal prohibited from requesting or participating in such a meeting," the letter written today to Coburn from the Ethics Committee says.

The Senate's Post-Employment Contact Ban prohibits former senior staff, like Hampton, for one year from knowingly communicating or appearing before their former Senate colleagues if their intent is to influence official action and they acting on behalf of any other person - called the "cooling off period."


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