[House Prints, 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



111th Congress                                         Review No.
 1st Session             HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES       09-2222
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                    OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS
                       UNITED STATES HOUSE OF
                           REPRESENTATIVES

                             --------


                            Report and Findings

                            Transmitted to the
                Committee on Standards of Official Conduct
                               on June 8, 2009
            and released publicly pursuant to H. Res. 895 of the
                           110th Congress as amended


            
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                                  June 2009






111th Congress                                         Review No.
 1st Session             HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES       09-2222
--------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                    OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS
                       UNITED STATES HOUSE OF
                           REPRESENTATIVES

                             --------


                            Report and Findings

                            Transmitted to the
                Committee on Standards of Official Conduct
                               on June 8, 2009
            and released publicly pursuant to H. Res. 895 of the
                           110th Congress as amended



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                                June 2009


                     U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
54-329                       WASHINGTON : 2009



                               OFFICE OF
                        CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS
                                BOARD

                    UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                          ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS

DAVID SKAGGS, Chair
PORTER GOSS, Co-Chair
YVONNE BURKE
KAREN ENGLISH
ALLISON HAYWARD
JAY EAGEN
WILLIAM FRENZEL
ABNER MIKVA
                                   ---------

Leo J. Wise, Chief Counsel & Staff Director
Elizabeth Horton, Investigative Counsel
Omar Ashmawy, Investigative Counsel








                                 REPORT

                           Review No. 09-2222

    The Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics, by a vote 
of no less than four members, on May 29, 2009, adopted the 
following report and ordered it to be transmitted to the 
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct of the U.S. House of 
Representatives.
    SUBJECT: Representative Bennie Thompson
    NATURE OF THE ALLEGED VIOLATION: There is substantial 
reason to believe that Congressman Bennie Thompson's 
participation in the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference in St. Maarten, N.A. from November 6-9, 
2008, his acceptance of reimbursement of expenses to attend 
that conference and the Member Post Travel Disclosure Form he 
filed violated various provisions of House Rule XXV Section 
5(b).
    RECOMMENDATION: The Board of the Office of Congressional 
Ethics recommends that the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct further review the above described allegations 
concerning Congressman Thompson.
    VOTES IN THE AFFIRMATIVE: 6
    VOTES IN THE NEGATIVE: 0
    MEMBER OF THE BOARD OR STAFF DESIGNATED TO PRESENT THIS 
REPORT TO THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE: Leo Wise, Staff Director & 
Chief Counsel.
                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

  I. INTRODUCTION.....................................................5
          A. Summary of Allegations..............................     5
          B. A Note on Culpability...............................     6
          C. Jurisdictional Statement............................     7
          D. Procedural History..................................     7
 II. MULTIPLE ENTITIES, INCLUDING CARIB NEWS (THE NEWSPAPER), THE 
     GOVERNMENT OF ST. MAARTEN AND SEVERAL CORPORATIONS, SPONSORED 
     REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON TRIP.....................................8
          A. Representative Thompson's Knowledge of The 
              Involvement of These Corporations in the Conference     9
          B. CARIB NEWS also Sponsored Congressman Thompson's 
              Travel.............................................    13
          C. Corporate Donations Were Earmarked for the 
              Conference.........................................    13
          D. Because Entities that Employ or Retain Lobbyists 
              Sponsored the Event, Congressman Thompson's 
              Involvement Should Have Been Limited to One Day....    17
          E. The Government of St. Maarten Made In-Kind Donations 
              to the 2008 Conference and Played a Significant 
              Role in Planning, Organizing and Conducting the 
              2008 Conference....................................    18
III. ROLE OF THE CHAIR'S COUNSEL IN THE APPROVAL OF THE 12TH ANNUAL 
     CARIBBEAN MULTI-NATIONAL BUSINESS CONFERENCE IN 2007............20
 IV. THE VALUE OF THE TRIP REPORTED ON THE MEMBER'S POST-TRAVEL 
     DISCLOSURE FORM.................................................36
          A. Representations from Carib News Foundation..........    37
          B. Information Required from the Congressional Traveler    38
  V. CARIB NEWS FOUNDATION, AS A PRIVATE FOUNDATION, WAS PROHIBITED 
     FROM PAYING FOR CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON'S TRAVEL...................39
                 FINDINGS OF FACT AND CITATIONS TO LAW

                           Review No. 09-2222

    On May 29, 2009 the Board of the Office of Congressional 
Ethics (hereafter the ``Board'') adopted the following findings 
of fact and accompanying citations to law, regulations, rules 
and standards of conduct (in italics). The Board notes that 
these findings do not constitute a determination of whether or 
not a violation actually occurred.

                             I. INTRODUCTON

    1. Congressman Bennie Thompson attended the 13th Annual 
Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference in St. Maarten, 
N.A., from November 6-9, 2008. Congressman Thompson received 
funds from a private source to participate in the conference.

                       A. SUMMARY OF ALLEGATIONS

    2. There is substantial reason to believe that Congressman 
Thompson violated the requirement that he identify the ``true, 
correct and accurate'' sponsor of his travel ``to the best of 
his knowledge'' on his Member Post Travel Disclosure Form. 
While forms submitted to his office and the Standards Committee 
before the conference identified one entity as the sponsor--the 
Carib News Foundation--once at the conference, Congressman 
Thompson was presented with indications that other 
corporations--including Citigroup, IBM, AT&T, Pfizer, Macy's 
and Verizon Foundation--were also sponsors. Those indications 
proved to be true--the corporations were in fact sponsors of 
Congressman Thompson's travel according to House travel rules 
because the corporations had donated funds specifically for the 
conference (i.e. earmarked funds). Further, events that 
occurred in 2007 affected the Standards Committee's ability to 
determine whether these corporations were sponsors in 2008:
          a. In 2007, the House of Representatives changed the 
        rules governing travel. Those changes placed 
        limitations on the number of days Members of Congress 
        could participate in events (such as conferences) when 
        their travel was sponsored by an entity that employs or 
        retains a lobbyist. These changes affected the annual 
        Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference. In 2007, 
        the Carib News Foundation continued to identify various 
        corporations as sponsors on the conference agenda and 
        on a draft version of the Private Sponsor Travel 
        Certification Form prepared for submission to the 
        Standards Committee for approval. However, after 
        interacting with the counsel to the then-Chair of the 
        Standards Committee, and apparently without the 
        knowledge of the staff attorney reviewing the trip, the 
        documents identifying these corporations as 
        ``sponsors'' were changed and their sponsorship was not 
        disclosed.
          b. The 2007 conduct and attendant misrepresentations 
        appear to have directly influenced what occurred in 
        2008. When the Carib News Foundation submitted 
        materials to the Standards Committee for their approval 
        of the 2008 conference, the Carib News Foundation took 
        the same approach as in 2007 and did not disclose the 
        role of the corporate sponsors on the forms they 
        submitted to the Standards Committee.
    3. There is substantial reason to believe that Congressman 
Thompson violated House Rule 25, clause 5(b)(1)(C) by accepting 
trip-related reimbursements from entities that employ or retain 
lobbyists for participating in an event for more than one day.
    4. There is substantial reason to believe that Congressman 
Thompson violated House Rule 25 clause 5(h)(i)(1)(B) by 
underreporting the value of the travel reimbursements he 
received to attend the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference.
    5. There is substantial reason to believe that the Carib 
News Foundation's payment of travel expenses for Representative 
Thompson and his acceptance of payment violated the Internal 
Revenue Code. As stated above, Carib News Charities, the name 
previously held by the 501(c) organization now known as the 
Carib News Foundation, is listed as a private foundation in the 
Internal Revenue's cumulative list of charitable organizations, 
Publication 78. Therefore, the Standards Committee should not 
have approved the trip because the funds came from a prohibited 
source.

                        B. A NOTE ON CULPABILITY

    6. These findings fall into four categories: (1) the 
sponsor or sponsors, as the case appears to be, of the 
conference; (2) the intervention of the counsel to the former 
Chair of the Standards Committee in the Standards Committee's 
review process of the conference in 2007 and how it affected 
the information before the Standards Committee in 2008; (3) the 
accuracy of the value of the reimbursement submitted by 
Congressman Thompson and (4) whether, because of its tax 
status, the Carib News Foundation could lawfully pay for 
Congressman Thompson's conference-related expenses.
    7. While all these topics are relevant, the Board notes 
that they do not all involve conduct by Congress Thompson to 
the same degree.
          a. As to topic 1, determining the identity of the 
        true sponsor or sponsors implicates the conduct of both 
        Congressman Thompson and the Standards Committee. 
        Congressman Thompson told the OCE he relied on the 
        Standards Committee to make that determination. It is 
        the Board's view that the Member's approach is 
        reasonable to a point. Once Congressman Thompson 
        arrived at the conference, however, he was confronted 
        with information that other corporations were co-
        sponsors. That information, at least in 2008, does not 
        appear to have been before the Standards Committee when 
        they initially approved the 2008 travel.
          b. As to topic 2, the intervention of the counsel to 
        the former Chair of the Standards Committee in the 
        Standards Committee's review of the 2007 conference did 
        not involve Congressman Thompson. Nonetheless, it 
        directly bears on whether and to what extent the 
        Standards Committee could determine the true sponsor of 
        the conference in 2008.
          c. As to topic 3, the accuracy of the information 
        Congressman Thompson provided as to the value of the 
        reimbursement of his conference-related expenses most 
        directly implicates his conduct. The post-travel 
        disclosure form that all Members must file when they 
        accept privately sponsored travel is signed and 
        certified by Members. The form puts the obligation on 
        Members, not staff ``true, accurate and complete'' to 
        the ``best of the Member's knowledge.'' Congressman 
        Thompson saw the value of his travel and retained 
        copies of documents that showed its true value in his 
        office files. Nonetheless, he certified inaccurate 
        information on the post-travel disclosure form.
          d. As to topic 4, limitations on Carib News 
        Foundation's ability to pay for overseas travel of 
        government officials, Congressman Thompson told the OCE 
        he was unaware of any such limitations. The Board finds 
        this statement to be credible. Nonetheless, the law 
        prohibits such payments. Therefore, the Board feels 
        compelled to include a discussion of this issue in this 
        referral.

                      C. JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT

    8. The allegations that are the subject of this review 
concern Representative Bennie Thompson, a Member of the United 
States House of Representatives from the 2nd District of 
Mississippi. The Resolution the United States House of 
Representatives adopted creating the Office of Congressional 
Ethics directs that, ``[n]o review shall be undertaken . . . by 
the board of any alleged violation that occurred before the 
date of adoption of this resolution.'' \1\ The House adopted 
this Resolution on March 11, 2008. Because the conduct under 
review occurred or relates to actions taken after March 11, 
2008, review by the Office of Congressional Ethics is in 
accordance with the Resolution.
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    \1\ House Resolution 895 of the 110th Congress, Section 1(e).
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                         D. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

    9. The OCE received a written request for a preliminary 
review in this matter signed by at least two members of the 
Board on March 6, 2009. The preliminary review commenced on 
this date.\2\ The preliminary review was scheduled to end on 
April 5, 2009.
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    \2\ A preliminary review is ``requested'' in writing by members of 
the Board of the OCE. The request for a preliminary review is 
``received'' by the OCE on a date certain. According to H. Res. 895 of 
the 110th Congress (hereafter ``the Resolution''), the timeframe for 
conducting a preliminary review is 30 days from the date of receipt of 
the Board's request.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    10. At least three members of the Board voted to initiate a 
second-phase review in this matter on March 27, 2009. The 
second-phase review commenced on April 6, 2009.\3\ The second-
phase review was scheduled to end on May 21, 2009.
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    \3\ According to the Resolution, the Board must vote on whether to 
conduct a second-phase review in a matter before the expiration of the 
30-day preliminary review. If the Board votes for a second-phase, the 
second-phase begins when the preliminary review ends. The second-phase 
review does not begin on the date of the Board vote.
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    11. The Board voted to extend the 45-day second-phase 
review by an additional 14 days, as provided for under the 
Resolution, on April 24, 2009. Following the extension, the 
second-phase review was scheduled to end on June 5, 2009.
    12. The second-phase review ended on May 26, 2009.
    13. The Board voted to refer the matter to the Standards 
Committee for further review on May 29, 2009.
    14. The OCE requested documents from and interviews with 
representatives of:
          (1) Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee's Congressional 
        office;
          (2) the Verizon Foundation;
          (3) Citibank;
          (4) American Airlines;
          (5) IBM;
          (6) Macy's, Inc;
          (7) Pfizer;
          (8) AT&T
          (9) Representative Kilpatrick's Congressional office;
          (10) Representative Payne's Congressional office;
          (11) Representative Rangel's Congressional office;
          (12) Representative Thompson's Congressional office;
          (13) Delegate Christensen's Congressional office;
          (14) The Carib News; and
          (15) The Carib News Foundation

   II. Multiple Entities, Including CARIB NEWS (the Newspaper), the 
     Government of St. Maarten and Several Corporations, Sponsored 
                      Representative Thompson Trip

    15. Under House Rule 25 clause 5(d), Members are required 
to obtain prior approval of the Standards Committee for trips 
where the Member's travel expenses will be reimbursed by a 
private source. The Standards Committee has adopted 
regulations, pursuant to House Rule 25 clause 5(h)(i)(1)(B) \4\ 
that requires Members to identify the ``sponsor(s),'' i.e. the 
party reimbursing travel expenses, for any trip where the payor 
is a private entity.
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    \4\ House Rule 25(5)(h)(i)(1)(B) directs the Standards Committee to 
establish, ``regulations describing the information it will require 
individuals subject to this clause to submit to the committee in order 
to obtain the prior approval of the committee for any travel covered by 
this clause . . .'' On February 20, 2007, the Committee issued 
guidelines and regulations concerning the travel restrictions and 
requirements.
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    16. There is substantial reason to believe that Congressman 
Thompson violated the requirement that he identify the ``true, 
correct and accurate'' sponsor of his travel ``to the best of 
his knowledge'' on his Member Post Travel Disclosure Form. 
While forms submitted to his and the Standards Committee before 
the conference identified one sponsor--the Carib News 
Foundation--once at the conference, Congressman Thompson was 
presented with evidence that other corporations were also 
sponsors. As will be discussed below, those indications proved 
to be true--these corporations were in fact sponsors of 
Congressman Thompson's travel according to House travel rules 
because these corporations had donated funds specifically for 
the conference (i.e. earmarked funds).

  A. REPRESENTATIVE THOMPSON'S KNOWLEDGE OF THE INVOLVEMENT OF THESE 
                     CORPORATIONS IN THE CONFERENCE

    17. On his Member Post-Travel Disclosure Form, Congressman 
Thompson listed Carib News Foundation as the only sponsor of 
the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference in 
St. Maarten, N.A. (hereafter ``the trip'' or ``conference'' 
\5\) in December 2008.\6\
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    \5\ The ``Member/Officer Post-Travel Disclosure Form'' asks the 
filer at question 5, ``Sponsor(s) (who paid for the trip).'' This in 
turn raises the question is a conference a ``trip'' or is a trip 
limited to the travel expenses associated with attending the trip, 
e.g., transportation, lodging and meal expenses? The House Ethics 
manual and the relevant forms use the terms ``travel'' and ``trip'' 
interchangeably. For example, the relevant form is called a Member/
Officer Post-Travel Disclosure Form'' (emphasis added). The 
introductory paragraph on the form provides, ``[t]his form is for 
disclosing the receipt of travel expenses from a private source for 
meetings, speaking engagements, fact-finding trips or similar events in 
connection with official duties'' (emphasis added). However, question 9 
on the form asks the filer to detail, ``TRIP EXPENSES'' and uses as an 
example, ``registration fees.'' Registration fees are not ``travel'' 
expenses unless one defines travel (or a trip) to include participating 
in a conference. The Board uses the term ``trip'' to include the 
conference. The Board also notes that the Standards Committee treated 
the conference as the ``trip'' in its letter pre-approving Congressman 
Thompson's trip.
    \6\ Member/Officer Post-Travel Disclosure Form signed by 
Representative Bennie G. Thompson (Dec. 5, 2008) (Exhibit 1 at 09-
2222--2).

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    18. Congressman Thompson certified that this information 
was ``true, correct and complete'' to the ``best of [his] 
knowledge.'' \7\
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    \7\  Id. at 09-2222--3.

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    19. In an interview with the OCE, Congressman Thompson 
confirmed he signed this document.\8\
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    \8\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative Bennie Thompson (May 
6, 2009) (Exhibit 2 at 09-2222--27).
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    20. Prior to the conference, Karl Rodney, the CEO of the 
Carib News Foundation, submitted a Private Sponsor Travel 
Certification Form to Congressman Thompson, which he in turn 
submitted to the Standards Committee that identified the Carib 
News Foundation as the sponsor of the trip.\9\
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    \9\ Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form signed by Karl A. 
Rodney (Oct. 3, 2008) (Exhibit 1 at 09-2222--8). 

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    21. Later, on that same form, Mr. Rodney represented that 
``the trip sponsor(s) [had] not accepted from any other source 
funds earmarked directly or indirectly to finance any aspect of 
the trip.'' \10\
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    \10\  Id. 

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    22. Rodney also certified that the information was ``true, 
complete, and correct.'' \11\
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    \11\  Id. at 09-2222--10. 

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    23. Prior to the conference, the Standards Committee 
approved the reimbursement of Congressman Thompson's expenses 
by the Carib News Foundation.\12\
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    \12\ Letter from the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to 
Representative Bennie G. Thompson (Oct. 20, 2008) (Exhibit 1 at 09-
2222--4). 

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    24. At the conference, several corporations, including 
Citibank, IBM, AT&T, and others, were identified as 
``sponsors.'' \13\
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    \13\ Photographs taken at the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference (Exhibit 5 at 09-2222--62-70) (The Board notes that 
the source of this information may have a bias, interest, or motive in 
this matter.).
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    25. On November 7, 2008, the conference's organizer, Karl 
Rodney, began the first morning program by thanking Citigroup, 
Pfizer, Macy's, IBM, AT&T, the Verizon Foundation and American 
Airlines, as well as their executives by name, who were 
present.\14\ This morning session was recorded by an individual 
attending the conference and the recording was subsequently 
transcribed. The OCE obtained a copy of the transcript. Mr. 
Rodney described AT&T as ``support[ing] the Conference all 13 
years'' (this was the thirteenth annual conference).\15\
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    \14\ Transcript of Recording of November 7, 2008 AM Session of the 
13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference (Exhibit 3 at 
09-2222--30-32) (The Board notes that the source of this information 
may have a bias, interest, or motive in this matter.).
    \15\ Id. at 09-2222--30.
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    26. Michael Flanigan, an executive from Citibank, spoke 
immediately after Mr. Rodney and described Citibank as the 
``lead sponsor of the premier event.''\16\
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    \16\ Id. at 09-2222--32.
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    27. Following Mr. Flanigan's remarks, and the remarks of 
several other speakers, Representative Carolyn Cheeks 
Kilpatrick spoke. At the end of her remarks she stated, ``[a]nd 
to the sponsors, by the way, all of you, we couldn't do this, 
be with you, help Karl if you weren't here with us so we say 
thank you very much, you are so important. To all of the 
sponsors, thank you very much.'' \17\
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    \17\ Id. at 09-2222--47.
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    28. In an interview with the OCE, Congressman Thompson 
confirmed he attended this session of the conference.\18\
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    \18\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative Bennie Thompson (May 
6, 2009) (Exhibit 2 at 09-2222--26).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    29. In addition to these comments, signs for the conference 
displayed these corporations' logos, including signs hung 
behind the speaker's podium.\19\
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    \19\ Photographs taken at the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference (Exhibit 5 at 09-2222--62). 

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    30. In an interview with the OCE, Congressman Thompson 
stated that he relied on the entity that invited his to the 
conference, the Carib News Foundation, to identify the sponsor 
of his trip and, further, that he relied on the Standards 
Committee, who pre-approved his trip, to determine if that 
information was accurate.\20\ As a result, Congressman Thompson 
told the OCE that the involvement of these corporations in the 
conference did not raise questions in his mind about whether 
the Carib News Foundation was the sole sponsor of the 
conference.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \20\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative Bennie Thompson (May 
6, 2009) (Exhibit 2 at 09-2222--28).
    \21\ Id. at 09-2222--27.
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    31. The Board notes that the practice of relying entirely 
on the Standards Committee to determine the sponsor of a 
Member's travel carries with it a degree of risk. Further, 
while Members are required to receive pre-approval from the 
Standards Committee before they travel, it is the Member, and 
not the Standards Committee, that is ultimately accepting the 
travel from a private sponsor. The Board reads the pre-
clearance process as a free-standing requirement the House 
adopted in 2007. There is no indication that the House intended 
it to supplant, or at the very least to completely supplant, 
Members' responsibility to abide by the travel rules when they 
accept privately sponsored travel. As a result, it is the 
Board's view that a reasonable reading of the travel rules 
places responsibility for identifying the sponsor with both the 
Member and the Standards Committee and not the Standards 
Committee alone. This shared responsibility also reflects the 
practical reality that, because the Member actually takes the 
trip, and the Standards Committee does not, the Member may, in 
certain circumstances, have access to information about the 
trip not available to the Standards Committee. In this 
instance, the Member's had information about the sponsors of 
the conference not available to the Standards Committee, namely 
that numerous corporations were identified as sponsors of the 
conference.
    32. Further, as described below, these other entities were, 
in fact, sponsors of the conference.

       B. CARIB NEWS ALSO SPONSORED CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON'S TRAVEL

    33. Karl Rodney is the publisher of the CARIB NEWS, a 
weekly newspaper published in New York. He also identified 
himself as the CEO of the Carib News Foundation on the Private 
Sponsor Travel Certification described above.\22\
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    \22\ Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form signed by Karl 
Rodney (Oct. 3, 2008) (Exhibit 1 at 09-2222--10).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    34. According to Mr. Rodney, ``general funds'' of CARIB 
NEWS were ``pooled'' with payments from corporate sponsors, 
made both to CARIB NEWS and the Carib News Foundation and fees 
from attendees at the conference to pay conference expenses 
including ``travel'' and ``hotel payments.''\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \23\ Letter from Joel Cohen, Counsel for Karl Rodney (May 18, 2009) 
(Exhibit 6 at 09-2222--72).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    35. Therefore, CARIB NEWS was also effectively a sponsor of 
Congressman Thompson's trip.

        C. CORPORATE DONATIONS WERE EARMARKED FOR THE CONFERENCE

    36. According to the House Ethics Manual:
        The rule and implementing regulations are concerned 
        with the organization(s) or individual(s) that actually 
        pay for travel. Thus, for example, when a nonprofit 
        organization pays for travel with donations that were 
        earmarked, either formally or informally, for the trip, 
        each such donor is deemed a--private source for the 
        trip and (1) must be publicly disclosed as a trip 
        sponsor on the applicable travel forms and (2) must 
        itself be required to satisfy the above standards on 
        proper sources of travel expenses.
    37. In the course of conducting its review, the OCE has 
learned that the Carib News Foundation solicited earmarked 
funds for the conference. For example, Carib News Foundation 
sent a solicitation letter to Citigroup, Inc.\24\
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    \24\ Letter from Carib News Foundation to Mr. Eric Eve, Citigroup, 
Inc. (Apr. 4, 2008) (Exhibit 7 at 09-2222--77-78) (a nearly identical 
letter was sent to IBM, AT&T, Pfizer, Verizon Foundation and others).

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    38. Attached to this solicitation letter was a PowerPoint 
presentation.\25\ The presentation solicits money only for the 
conference and not for any other purpose, outlining the 
benefits of each level of sponsorship--Platinum, Gold, and 
Silver, along with lesser levels of sponsorship--in terms of 
the conference.\26\ In each instance, the sponsorship covers 
travel related expenses such as gala events and meals.
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    \25\ Id. at 09-2222--79-94.
    \26\ Id. at 09-2222--87-90. 

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    39. The OCE also learned that at least four of the 
corporations identified at the conference did in fact, make 
payments to the Carib News Foundation and CARIB NEWS (the 
newspaper) earmarked for the conference. The Carib News 
Foundation itself appears to be nothing more than a conduit in 
this case, and a partial one at that, for payments from 
corporations to support the conference. There is no evidence 
that the organization has filed a tax return with the IRS, 
under either Carib News Foundation or Carib News Charities, 
since 2005.\27\ On its 2005 Form 990, the Carib News Foundation 
is shown as having no assets, no income and no expenses.\28\ 
Not a single witness from a sponsor interviewed by the OCE knew 
of any other work of the Foundation. Indeed one witness, from 
IBM, was not aware that the Foundation played a role in the 
conference.\29\
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    \27\ Letter from IRS to OCE (April 17, 2009) (Exhibit 8 at 09-
2222--98-115).
    \28\ Id. at 09-2222--98-115.
    \29\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative of IBM (May 8, 2009) 
(Exhibit 9 at 09-2222--119).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    40. Citigroup. Citigroup made a $75,000 payment to the 
CARIB NEWS for the conference.\30\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \30\ Documents submitted to the OCE by Citigroup (Exhibit 7 at 09-
2222--76).
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    41. Verizon Foundation. Verizon Foundation made a $35,000 
payment to the Carib News Charities \31\ for the 
conference.\32\
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    \31\ Mr. Rodney accepted corporate payments under the names of 
three entities: The Carib News, the Carib News Foundation, and the 
Carib News Charities. According to the Secretary of State for the State 
of New York, the organization that currently operates as the Carib News 
Foundation originally operated under the name the Carib News Charities.
    \32\ Documents Submitted to the OCE by the Verizon Foundation 
(Exhibit 10 at 09-2222--122). 

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    42. Representative 1 of the Verizon Foundation said the 
Verizon Foundation funded the Carib News Foundation for the 
first time in 2008 and that the grant was issued to provide 
funding for the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National Business 
Conference.\33\
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    \33\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative 1 of Verizon 
Foundation (Mar. 23, 2009) (Exhibit 11 at 09-2222--128).
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    43. IBM. IBM made a $20,000 payment to Carib News 
Foundation for the conference as indicated on the invoice that 
CARIB NEWS, INC. (not Carib News Foundation) sent IBM.\34\
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    \34\ Documents submitted by IBM to the OCE (Exhibit 13 at 09-2222--
142).

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    44. Macy's. Macy's made a $35,000 payment to CARIB NEWS for 
the conference.\35\
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    \35\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative 1 of Macy's (Exhibit 
20 at 09-2222--236).
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    45. Pfizer. Pfizer made a $25,000 payment to CARIB NEWS for 
the conference.\36\
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    \36\ Interview with Investigative Counsel on May 22, 2009.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    46. Only American Airlines explicitly limited their 
sponsorship of the conference to individuals who were not 
elected officials, prohibiting CARIB NEWS from using any part 
of their sponsorship on Members of Congress and other 
government officials and their staff.\37\ No other sponsor with 
whom we spoke placed restrictions on how or on whom their 
contribution could be spent. The only expectation was that the 
contribution would be used for expenses associated with the 
conference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \37\ Documents submitted by American Airlines to the OCE (Exhibit 
14 at 09-2222--145) and OCE Investigative Counsel interview with 
American Airlines Representative (Mar. 5, 2009) (American Airlines 
provided an in-kind contribution in the form of ten roundtrip tickets 
to be used by Carib News in any manner they chose with the exception 
that no ticket could be used for an elected official or the official's 
staff or family. The estimated value of their contribution was between 
$6,200 and $7,500).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

   D. BECAUSE ENTITIES THAT EMPLOY OR RETAIN LOBBYISTS SPONSORED THE 
 EVENT, CONGRESSMAN THOMPSON'S INVOLVEMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LIMITED TO 
                                ONE DAY

    47. According to the House Ethics Manual:
        One-Day Event Trip. The sole exception to the general 
        prohibition on accepting officially-connected travel 
        from a private source that retains or employs lobbyists 
        or agents of a foreign principal is for trips involving 
        attendance at or participation in one-day event 
        (exclusive of travel time and an overnight stay).
        Under the rule, it is permissible for a Member or staff 
        person to accept and meals related to a single night's 
        lodging and meals related to the trip, if offered by 
        the trip sponsor. Members and staff must limit their 
        involvement in connection with the event to a single 
        calendar day, exclusive of travel time and an overnight 
        stay. A Member or staff person may therefore attend 
        only a single day of a multiple-day conference, forum, 
        or other event that is being hosted primarily for 
        individuals other than congressional invitees.
        Under the Committee's travel regulations and guidelines 
        implementing the travel provisions of the gift rule, 
        the Committee may permit a second night's stay when 
        determined--on a case-by-case basis to be practically 
        required to participate in the one-day event (House 
        Rule 25, clause 5(b)(1)(C)). Some circumstances in 
        which the Committee may permit a second night's stay 
        are for certain long-distance trips, when a Member or 
        staff person is participating in a full day's worth of 
        officially-connected activities such that a second 
        night's stay is necessary to accomplish the purpose of 
        the trip, or other exceptional circumstances that are 
        described in detail by the traveler. The traveler will 
        be personally responsible for any expenses incurred 
        beyond those allowed by the Committee in connection 
        with the second night's stay.\38\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \38\ House Ethics Manual at 92-93 (citing House Rule 25, clause 
5(b)(1)(C)) (emphasis in original)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    48. Citigroup, IBM and Verizon employ or retain 
lobbyists.\39\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \39\ Clerk of the House of Representatives Lobbying Disclosure 
Report 2008 (excerpt attached hereto as ``Exhibit 15'' at 09-2222--151-
156).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    49. Congressman Thompson spent four days at the conference 
at the expense of the third-party.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \40\ Member/Officer Post-Travel Disclosure Form signed by 
Representative Bennie G. Thompson (Dec. 5, 2008) (Exhibit 1 at 09-
2222--2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    50. There is substantial reason to believe that Congressman 
Thompson violated House Rule 25, clause 5(b)(1)(C) by accepting 
trip-related reimbursements from entities that employ or retain 
lobbyists for participating in an event for more than one day.

  E. THE GOVERNMENT OF ST. MAARTEN MADE IN-KIND DONATIONS TO THE 2008 
 CONFERENCE AND PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN PLANNING, ORGANIZING AND 
                     CONDUCTING THE 2008 CONFERENCE

    51. The Government of St. Maarten was the host of the 2008 
conference.
    52. In that capacity, the Government of St. Maarten 
provided in-kind donations to support the conference and also 
had a substantial role in planning the conference. As a result, 
it was effectively a sponsor of the 2008 conference.\41\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \41\ In 2007, the ``host'' of the conference was the Government of 
Antigua and Barbuda. In the event that the Government of Antigua and 
Barbuda provided the same support as St. Maarten did in 2008, then the 
members may have accepted gifts from a foreign government which would 
have been reportable under the Foreign Gift and Decorations Act. In 
addition, if the Government of Antigua provided these gifts to the 
Members, and if they were more than $335 in value, then the Members 
should have disclosed them on their financial disclosure form for 2007, 
which was filed in May 2008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    53. Rodney provided the Leader of Government of St. 
Maarten, Commissioner Sarah Wescott-Williams, with a list of 
``Basic Requirements to Host Caribbean Multi-National Business 
Conference.'' \42\ These included:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \42\ Letter from Karl Rodney to Commissioner Sarah Wescott-Williams 
(Aug. 13, 2008) (Exhibit 16 at 09-2222--158).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    54. According to a statement from Mr. Rodney submitted to 
the OCE, the Government of St. Maarten, (1) developed local 
Host Committees to facilitate local planning; (2) helped 
negotiate the rate with the hotel, (3) assisted in developing 
the theme of the Conference, (4) assisted in identifying local 
speakers, including the Leader of Government, (5) assisted in 
local publicity, (6) provided local entertainment, including a 
school choir and cultural items, (7) arranged Host Country 
Evening on Friday, November 8 (the whole group was transported 
to another property for refreshments and entertainment), (8) 
helped with local transportation for some CARIB NEWS employees 
and helped arrange accommodations for some guests (not paying 
for such accommodations), (9) participated as event speakers, 
and (10) issued invitations to attend to specially invited 
guests.\43\ These contributions to the conference were all in-
kind, according to Mr. Rodney, and he did not provide an 
estimated value for them.\44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \43\ Letter from Joel Cohen, Counsel for Karl Rodney (May 18, 2009) 
(Exhibit 6 at 09-2222--72-73).
    \44\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    55. In addition, because these donations to the conference 
are from a foreign government, Members are required to take 
certain actions under the Foreign Gifts and Decorations 
Act.\45\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \45\ 5 U.S.C. Sec. 7342.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    56. Representative Thompson told the OCE that he was 
unaware of what role the Government of St. Maarten played in 
the conference.\46\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \46\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative Bennie Thompson (May 
6, 2009) (Exhibit 2 at 09-2222--28).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

  III. Role of the Chair's Counsel in the Approval of the 12th Annual 
          Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference in 2007

    57. As previously stated, Congressman Thompson told the OCE 
that he relied on the Standards Committee to determine who the 
true sponsor of the conference was based on information the 
Standards Committee received from the organization that invited 
him to the conference--the Carib News Foundation.\47\ In the 
course of the Board's review, the OCE requested documents from 
Mr. Karl Rodney, the CEO of the Carib News Foundation. Mr. 
Rodney voluntarily submitted documents to the OCE that 
included, among other things, communication with certain 
members of the staff of the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct in 2007. The contents of these documents from 2007 are 
relevant because they indicate the role of the corporations was 
concealed from the Committee in 2008.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \47\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    58. The Board requested that the Committee provide the 
information submitted to it for 2008 and the Committee declined 
to do so.
    59. The documents submitted by Mr. Rodney show that in 2007 
the CARIB NEWS initially identified, on several occasions, 
other corporations as sponsors of the Conference. The 
designation of these corporate entities as sponsors presented a 
problem for CARIB NEWS and the Members who wished to attend the 
conference insofar as their attendance would be limited to one 
day. In 2007, as a result of changes in the travel rules, a 
Member could not, in most instances, participate in an event 
(such as a conference) for more than one day if their travel to 
and participation in the event was paid for by an entity that 
employed or retained a lobbyist.\48\ Many of the corporate 
entities who sponsored the 2007, as well as the 2008 
conference, employed or retained lobbyists. Although CARIB NEWS 
initially identified these entities as sponsors, following 
interactions with the counsel to the then-chair of the 
Committee, apparently without the knowledge of the Standards 
Committee staff attorney assigned to review the trip, the 
documents identifying these organizations as sponsors were 
changed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \48\ House Ethics Manual (2008) at 92-93 (citing House Rule 25, 
clause 5(b)(1)(C)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    60. Subsequently, in 2008, the Carib News Foundation 
submitted documents that omitted the role of these other 
corporations as sponsors of the conference. Further, the staff 
attorney assigned to review the trip in 2008 was not the same 
staff attorney that reviewed the trip in 2007.
    61. The earliest communication between CARIB NEWS or the 
Carib News Foundation and anyone associated with the Ethics 
Committee in the documents submitted to the OCE from Mr. Rodney 
is an e-mail dated September 17, 2007 from Patricia Louis, an 
Executive Assistant at CARIB NEWS, to Dawn Kelly Mobley, 
Counsel to the then-Chair of the Ethics Committee.\49\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \49\ E-mail from Patricia Louis to Dawn Kelly Mobley (Sept. 17, 
2007, 3:47 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--208) (The Board elected not 
the interview Ms. Mobley and Ms. Olson because the Standards Committee 
voted against disclosing information to the OCE. The Board determined 
that it would have been an act of bad faith on the part of the OCE to 
attempt to interview staff and former staff of the Standards Committee 
in light of the Committee's refusal to grant OCE access to their 
records.).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    62. The next day, on September 18, 2007, Ms. Mobley 
responded and asked for ``any information on your sponsor's 
status.'' \50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \50\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Sept. 18, 
2007, 12:57 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--208).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    63. That same day Ms. Louis responded, indentifying 
multiple corporations as ``sponsors'' of the trip.\51\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \51\ E-mail from Patricia Louis to Dawn Kelly Mobley (Sept. 18, 
2007) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--208). (The Board notes that while the 
document that contains the e-mail does not have a header which 
indicates a date and time, both the e-mail before it and responding to 
it are dated September 18, 2007). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    64. In response that same day, Ms. Mobley asked, ``[d]o any 
of these organizations have or retain a lobbyist' '' \52\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \52\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Sept. 18, 
2007, 7:03 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--207).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    65. The next day, Ms. Mobley further responded asking Ms. 
Louis whether she, Ms. Mobley, should ``assume'' the sponsor 
was CARIB NEWS, despite the fact that Ms. Louis had not 
identified CARIB NEWS as a sponsor.\53\ The Board notes that in 
her e-mail, Ms. Louis did not identify CARIB NEWS as a sponsor. 
Further, Ms. Mobley acknowledged that she had been told 
corporations identified by Ms. Louis were ``sponsoring food and 
other parts of the Antigua travel.'' Under House rules in place 
at the time, and under current rules, sponsoring a meal makes 
these corporations sponsors of a Member's travel.\54\ The Board 
also notes Ms. Mobley's use of the phrase ``safe review,'' 
which the Board takes to mean a review which results in 
approval of the trip.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \53\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Sept. 19, 
2007, 2:16 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--207).
    \54\ House Ethics Manual (2008) at 97-98.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    
    66. Later in the afternoon on September 19, 2007, Ms. 
Mobley sent Ms. Louis another e-mail where she discussed the 
limitations posed by the new travel rules the House had adopted 
in 2007. Ms. Mobley told Ms. Louis, ``the new rules might 
prohibit some things you were able to do with so many different 
sponsors in the past.'' Thus, Ms. Mobley again acknowledged 
that these corporations were sponsors and that the new travel 
rules affected the nature of their participation in the 
trip.\55\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \55\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Sept. 19, 
2007, 3:23 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--207).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    67. On September 21, 2007, Ms. Louis responded.\56\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \56\ E-mail from Patricia Louis to Dawn Kelly Mobley (Sept. 21, 
2007, 1:56 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--205). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    68. That same day, on September 21, 2007, Ms. Louis faxed 
Ms. Mobley a Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form. On the 
form Carib News Foundation is listed as the sponsor of the trip 
in question 1.\57\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \57\ Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form (Sept. 21, 2007) 
(Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--195). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    69. However, the Carib News Foundation listed a number of 
corporations as private sponsors, each with responsibility for 
planning and conducting the trip, in question 12.\58\ This is 
at least the second instance where the Carib News Foundation 
identified these corporations as the trip's sponsors.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \58\ Id.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    
    70. This prompted the following e-mail from Ms. Mobley to 
Ms. Louis.\59\ The Board notes that Ms. Mobley stated she was 
``working through'' the Carib News Foundation's forms ``before 
leaving them with our staff attorney.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \59\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Sept. 25, 
2007, 12:42 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--192). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    71. Later that same day, Ms. Mobley queried further.\60\ At 
least as of this date, following at least two instances where 
Ms. Louis identified these corporations as sponsors, Ms. Mobley 
appeared to treat these entities as ``co-sponsors.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \60\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Sept. 25, 
2007, 5:08 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--192).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    72. On October 3, 2007, Ms. Mobley informed Ms. Louis that 
Susan Olson was the staff attorney assigned to review the 
trip.\61\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \61\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Oct. 3, 2007, 
12:39 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--185).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    73. A copy of the Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form 
provided to a Member's office on October 5, 2007, shows that by 
October 5, 2007, following its interaction with Ms. Mobley, 
Carib News Foundation changed its answer to question 12 
regarding other private sponsors. As previously highlighted, as 
of September 21, 2007, Carib News Foundation provided the 
following answer to question 12.\62\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \62\ Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form (Sept. 21, 2007) 
(Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--196). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    74. However, as of October 5, 2007, it provided a different 
answer to question 12.\63\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \63\ Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form (Oct. 5, 2007) 
(Exhibit 18 at 09-2222--211).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


And the attached sheet provided the following information.\64\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \64\ Id. at 09-2222--215

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    
On October 10, 2007, Susan Olson, the staff attorney on the 
Standards Committee assigned to review the trip e-mailed Ms. 
Louis the following questions \65\ (and copied Ms. Mobley and 
the Chief Counsel of the Standards Committee at that time, Bill 
O'Reilly). While the Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form 
for the trip had been changed by this date, the draft agenda 
for the conference apparently had not and still showed 
corporate sponsors for various events. What Ms. Olson does not 
appear to be aware of is the fact that Carib News Foundation 
had previously identified the same corporations she is raising 
questions about as private sponsors on its original Private 
Sponsor Travel Certification form.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \65\ E-mail from Susan Olson to Patricia Louis (Oct. 10, 2007, 4:01 
PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--177-178). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    75. The Committee's Advisory Opinion dated October 27, 2006 
indicates, as Ms. Olson wrote, that Carib News Foundation told 
the Standards Committee in 2006 that there were several 
corporate entities that sponsored the conference.\66\ The 
``Advisory Opinion'' did not conclude that these entities were, 
in fact, the trip's sponsors, as the e-mail seems to indicate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \66\ Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, Advisory Opinion 
(Oct. 27, 2006) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--201-203).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    76. A draft agenda for the conference dated October 3, 
2007, identified a ``sponsor'' for each event listed.\67\ This 
appears to be the version of the agenda that Olson is referring 
to in her e-mail. For example, ``Preferred Health Partners'' is 
identified as the sponsor of this event on ``Port & Airport 
Security--The Mandates.'' \68\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \67\ Working Draft of the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference Program (Oct. 3, 2007) (Exhibit 19 at 09-2222--
217).
    \68\ Id. at 09-2222--222-223.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    
And Citi is identified as the sponsor of this event on 
``Community Outreach--Education--Access and Collaboration.'' 
\69\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \69\ Id. at 09-2222--229.

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    
    77. Ms. Louis forwarded Ms. Olson's e-mail to Ms. Mobley, 
Congressman Charles Rangel's Chief of Staff George Dalley and 
Delegate Donna Christensen's scheduler Shelley Thomas, and 
asked them to advise her on a response.\70\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \70\ E-mail from Patricia Louis to Dawn Kelly Mobley, George 
Dalley, and Shelley Thomas (Oct. 10, 2007, 5:56 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 
09-2222--183).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


Ms. Louis appears to be pre-clearing her response to questions 
posed by the Standards Committee staff attorney. There is no 
indication that the staff attorney knew that the answer to her 
question had already been discussed with the counsel to the 
then-chair of the Standards Committee. Substantively, based on 
documents obtained by the OCE and interviews with sponsors, the 
statement ``the sponsors contribute to the overall expense of 
the trip'' appears to be true. However, the statement ``and the 
general work of the Foundation,'' does not appear to be true. 
All of the sponsors OCE interviewed stated unequivocally that 
the contribution was intended for the conference.\71\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \71\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative of IBM (May 8, 2009) 
(Exhibit 9); Memorandum of Interview of Representative 1 of the Verizon 
Foundation (Mar. 23, 2009) (Exhibit 11); Memorandum of Interview of 
Representative of Citi (Mar. 17, 2009) (Exhibit 4); Memorandum of 
Interview of Representative 1 of Macy's (May 28, 2009) (Exhibit 20).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    78. Less than an hour later Ms. Mobley responded.\72\ The 
Board notes Ms. Mobley's concern with whether any of the 
corporate sponsors paid for an event and also retained a 
lobbyist'' and her conclusion that if they did, Members of 
Congress could only attend for one day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \72\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Oct. 10, 
2007, 6:49 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--183). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    79. Ms. Louis then faxed Ms. Mobley.\73\ The Board notes 
that Ms. Louis again appears to be pre-clearing her responses 
to the staff attorney, Ms. Olson, with Ms. Mobley (``Kindly 
review and advise before I send to Ms. Olson.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \73\ Fax from Patricia Louis to Dawn Kelly Mobley (Oct. 11, 2007) 
(Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--180).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    80. The Board further notes that Ms. Louis represented 
that, ``the program has been amended to reflect the companies 
as Participants,'' an action taken following Ms. Louis' 
interactions with Ms. Mobley. A copy of the revised agenda was 
submitted by another Member of Congress who attended the 
conference.\74\ The Board notes that this ``updated'' schedule 
changed the label applied to ``sponsors'' to ``participants'' 
and in some cases deleted any mention of the corporate entity 
that had previously been identified as a ``sponsor.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \74\ Working Draft of the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference Program (Oct. 22, 2007) (Exhibit 21 at 09-2222--
238). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    81. This event was previously identified in the earlier 
draft as being ``sponsored'' by Preferred Health Partners.\75\ 
Now it identifies them as merely a ``participant.'' \76\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \75\ Working Draft of the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference Program (Oct. 3, 2007) (Exhibit 19 at 09-2222--222-
223).
    \76\ Working Draft of the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference Program (Oct. 22, 2007) (Exhibit 21 at 09-2222--
242). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    82. In another example, the Board notes that the following 
event was previously identified as being sponsored by CITI.\77\ 
Now CITI is not even mentioned.\78\ Michael Flanigan, the 
moderator, was an executive at CITI at the time and represented 
the company at the conference.\79\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \77\ Working Draft of the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference Program (Oct. 3, 2007) (Exhibit 19 at 09-2222--
229).
    \78\ Working Draft of the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference Program (Oct. 22, 2007) (Exhibit 21 at 09-2222--
248).
    \79\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative of Citi (Mar. 17, 
2009) (Exhibit 4). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    83. These changes were entirely cosmetic. There is no 
indication that the corporations' substantive role in the 
conference changed in any way.
    84. That same day, October 11, 2007, Ms. Louis responded to 
Ms. Olson, stating that ``[t]he sponsors contribute to the 
overall expense of the trip.'' \80\ The Board notes that this 
is precisely the answer she had pre-cleared with Mobley.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \80\ E-mail from Patricia Louis to Susan Olson (Oct. 10, 2007, 
10:33 AM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--177).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    85. Ms. Olson then forwarded her exchange with Ms. Louis to 
Bill O'Reilly, the Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the 
Ethics Committee at that time, and to Dawn Mobley.\81\ Based on 
this e-mail, it appears that Ms. Olson was unaware that Mobley 
had been communicating directly with the Carib News Foundation. 
There is also no evidence that Ms. Mobley told her she had been 
involved in this manner. Witnesses for the various sponsors 
told the OCE that they did contribute funding directly to the 
trip (the conference) and in no case did they simply make 
donations to the ``general funds'' of the CARIB NEWS or the 
Carib News Foundation.\82\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \81\ E-mail from Susan Olson to Bill O'Reilly and Dawn Kelly Mobley 
(Oct. 12, 2007 9:29 AM) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--177).
    \82\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative of IBM (May 8, 2009) 
(Exhibit 9); Memorandum of Interview of Representative 1 of the Verizon 
Foundation (Mar. 23, 2009) (Exhibit 11); Memorandum of Interview of 
Representative of Citi (Mar. 17, 2009) (Exhibit 4); Memorandum of 
Interview of Representative 1 of Macy's (May 28, 2009) (Exhibit 20). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    86. Ms. Mobley then forwarded Ms. Olson's internal e-mail 
to Ms. Louis.\83\ The Board notes that Ms. Mobley counseled 
that these ``other organizations'' can ``participate'' in the 
program but ``should not help pay for the trip.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \83\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Oct. 12, 2007 
9:59 AM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--176). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    87. Later that day, Ms. Mobley sent Ms. Louis an additional 
e-mail.\84\ As previously stated, the sponsors whom the OCE 
interviewed all stated that they did not ``support [the] 
foundation annually'' and did specifically designate their 
donations for the 2007 conference. Either Ms. Mobley was 
repeating inaccurate information Ms. Louis had given her, or 
she was giving inaccurate information to Ms. Olson without 
prompting.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \84\ E-mail from Dawn Kelly Mobley to Patricia Louis (Oct. 12, 2007 
1:55 PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--176).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    88. Ms. Olson then sent Ms. Louis additional questions 
about the corporate entities previously identified as 
``sponsors.'' \85\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \85\ E-mail from Susan Olson to Patricia Louis (Oct. 12, 2007 2:41 
PM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--171). 

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    89. Three days later, Ms. Louis sent an e-mail to Ms. 
Mobley, but addressed to Ms. Olson.\86\ This may have been 
inadvertent or, based on their previous practice, Ms. Louis may 
have done this before she then sent it to Ms. Olson. This is 
the final communication regarding the 2007 conference provided 
to the OCE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \86\ E-mail from Patricia Louis to Dawn Kelly Mobley (Oct. 18, 2007 
11:00 AM EST) (Exhibit 17 at 09-2222--170).

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    90. In an interview with the OCE, a staff member of 
Representative Rangel's office, Staff Member 1 of Congressman 
Rangel's Office, described discussions with Ms. Louis and Ms. 
Mobley in 2007 on the topic of how the new travel rules would 
affect the Members' participation in the 2007 conference.\87\ 
The staff member said that Ms. Louis, and Mr. and Mrs. Rodney 
told him that the then Chair of the Standards Committee had 
assigned her counsel on the Committee, Ms. Mobley, to ``find a 
way'' to allow Members of Congress to participate in the 
conference under the new travel rules passed by the House in 
2007.\88\ The staff member told the OCE that Congressman Rangel 
told him that the then-Chair had made similar statements to 
him.\89\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \87\ Memorandum of Interview of Staff Member 1 of Congressman 
Rangel's Office (May 27-28, 2009) (Exhibit 22 at 09-2222--251-256).
    \88\T3AId. at 09-2222--252.
    \89\ Id. at 09-2222--253.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    91. Staff Member 1 of Congressman Rangel's Office said the 
``framework'' that was decided upon was that the Carib News 
Foundation would raise money from corporate donors who had 
previously sponsored the conference and that this money in turn 
would be deposited in a ``common fund'' that would then be used 
to pay for the conference. It was Staff Member 1 of Congressman 
Rangel's Office's understanding that if this was done, then 
Members of Congress could participate in the conference without 
any restrictions imposed by the new rules. Staff Member 1 of 
Congressman Rangel's Office said that it was important to break 
the link between the corporations and the conference under the 
new rules and that using the Foundation in this way would 
enable that to happen. Staff Member 1 of Congressman Rangel's 
Office said he learned of this new framework for the conference 
from Mr. and Mrs. Rodney and that they represented this 
approach had come from Ms. Mobley on the Standards 
Committee.\90\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \90\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    92. This conduct in 2007 is relevant to the present reviews 
for a number of reasons. First, in and of itself, the 
intervention of the Chair's counsel in this matter is troubling 
and more likely constituted an improper manipulation of the 
clearance process. Following Ms. Mobley's intervention, Carib 
News Foundation changed the Private Sponsor Travel 
Certification Form to delete any mention of private sponsors 
before it was sent to the Standards Committee's staff attorney 
assigned to review the matter. This occurred after Carib News 
Foundation had told Ms. Mobley that these corporations were 
sponsors of the conference on several occasions. Ms. Louis's 
initial, and presumably truthful, submissions regarding the 
conference described the corporate entities as sponsors. 
However, if the corporations were sponsors of the conference, 
as opposed to Carib News Foundation, then the Members of 
Congress ability to attend would have been limited because, the 
corporations, unlike the Carib News Foundation, employed or 
retained lobbyists. It appears from the correspondence between 
Ms. Mobley and Ms. Louis, and Ms. Olson's apparent ignorance of 
the correspondence, that Ms. Mobley assisted Ms. Louis in 
preparing inaccurate answers for Ms. Olson in order to ensure 
that Ms. Olson would approve the trip in a manner that would 
not limit the attendance of the Members of Congress. Ms. 
Mobley's involvement in the process seems to have prevented the 
Standards Committee and its staff from correctly performing its 
responsibilities. Ms. Olson's approval of the trip was 
predicated on an incomplete or inaccurate factual record, in 
which Ms. Mobley apparently was complicit, putting at risk 
those Members of Congress who relied on that approval.
    93. The 2007 conduct and attendant misrepresentations 
appear to have directly influenced what occurred in 2008. When 
the Carib News Foundation submitted materials to the Standards 
Committee for their approval of the 2008 conference, the Carib 
News Foundation took the same approach that they had been 
counseled to take in 2007 and did not disclose the role of the 
corporate sponsors on the Private Sponsor Travel Certification 
Form or the conference agenda.
    94. In fact, in 2008, Carib News Foundation again first 
submitted its document to Ms. Mobley.\91\ The Board notes that 
while Ms. Mobley remains an employee of the U.S. House of 
Representatives as of the date of this report, the above 
described conduct did not occur after the day the House passed 
the resolution creating the OCE, and therefore, under the terms 
of the that resolution, the OCE does not have jurisdiction to 
open a preliminary review into Ms. Mobley's conduct.
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    \91\ Fax from Patricia Louis to Dawn Kelly Mobley (Aug. 20, 2008) 
(Exhibit 23 at 09-2222--258).

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    IV. The Value of the Trip Reported on the Member's Post-Travel 
                            Disclosure Form

    95. Under House Rule 25 clause 5(d), Members are required 
to obtain prior approval of the Standards Committee for trips 
where the Member's travel expenses will be reimbursed by a 
private source. The Standards Committee has adopted 
regulations, including a pre- and post-travel form Members must 
complete, pursuant to House Rule 25 clause 5(h)(i)(1)(B) \92\ 
that requires Members to publicly disclose ``trip expenses.''
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    \92\ House Rule 25(5)(h)(i)(1)(B) directs the Standards Committee 
to establish, ``regulations describing the information it will require 
individuals subject to this clause to submit to the committee in order 
to obtain the prior approval of the committee for any travel covered by 
this clause . . .'' On February 20, 2007, the Committee issued 
guidelines and regulations concerning the travel restrictions and 
requirements.
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    96. According to the House Ethics Manual, ``[t]he rule and 
implementing regulations are concerned with the organization(s) 
or individual(s) that actually pay for travel.'' House Ethics 
Manual (2008) at 97.
    97. There is substantial reason to believe that Congressman 
Thompson violated House Rule 25 clause 5(h)(i)(1)(B) by 
underreporting the value of the travel reimbursements he 
received to attend the 13th Annual Caribbean Multi-National 
Business Conference.

             A. REPRESENTATIONS FROM CARIB NEWS FOUNDATION

    98. Carib News Foundation submitted a Private Sponsor 
Travel Certification Form to each Member it sponsored for the 
2008 trip--Representatives Christensen, Kilpatrick, Payne, 
Rangel and Thompson.\93\ This form was provided to each Member 
Office and then submitted by the Member Office to the Standards 
Committee as part of the pre-travel approval process.
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    \93\ Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form signed by Karl 
Rodney (Oct. 3, 2008) (Exhibit 1 at 09-2222--10).

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    99. The Board notes that the Carib News Foundation provided 
the same exact dollar figure with very minor variations for 
each Member of Congress that attended the conference despite 
the fact that Carib News Foundation recognized on the same form 
that the Congressional travelers were travelling to and from 
different cities. In fact, the Congressional travelers came 
from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; Detroit, Michigan; Newark, 
New Jersey; New York, New York; and Jackson, Mississippi.
    100. In addition, according to Mr. Rodney, the cost charged 
to ``the public'' to attend the conference for four days and 
three nights was $840 for double occupancy or $1085 for single 
occupancy. The cost of attendance included ``room 
accommodations, meals, and admission to the Conference.'' 
However, these figures were not disclosed pre-travel to the 
Members or the Standards Committee, nor were these figures 
disclosed to the Members after the conference.\94\
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    \94\ Letter from Joel Cohen, Counsel for Karl Rodney (May 18, 2009) 
(Exhibit 6 at 09-2222--73).
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        B. INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM THE CONGRESSIONAL TRAVELER

    101. On his Member/Officer Post-Travel Disclosure Form,\95\ 
Representative Thompson certified his travel cost as the 
following:
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    \95\ Member/Officer Post-Travel Disclosure Form signed by 
Representative Bennie G. Thompson (Dec. 5, 2008) (Exhibit 1 at 09-
2222--3).

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    102. However, documents from Congressman Thompson's office 
show his airline ticket cost $750.15, not $410.\96\
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    \96\ E-mail from Jennifer Jimerson to Patricia Louis (Oct. 27, 
2008, 8:27 PM EST) (Exhibit 24 at 09-2222--283). 

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    103. In an interview with OCE, Congressman Thompson stated 
that he had been shown a list of flights and that he had chosen 
which flight he would take.\97\
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    \97\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative Bennie Thompson (May 
6, 2009) (Exhibit 2 at 09-2222--26).
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V. Carib News Foundation, as a Private Foundation, Was Prohibited From 
                Paying for Congressman Thompson's Travel

    104. The Carib News Foundation is identified as the 
``sponsor'' of this conference on at least three forms filed 
with the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct: (1) the 
``Private Sponsor Travel Certification Form''; (2) the 
``Privately Sponsored Travel: Travel Form,'' and (3) the 
``Member/Officer Post-Travel Disclosure Form.'' \98\
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    \98\ Member/Officer Post-Travel Disclosure Form signed by 
Representative Bennie G. Thompson (Dec. 5, 2008) (Exhibit at 09-2222--
2).
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    105. According to a query of the New York State's Office of 
the Secretary of State, Mr. Rodney appears to operate two 
organizations--the ``Carib News, Inc'' which operates a 
newspaper and the ``Carib News Charities, Inc'' which also may 
operate under the name ``Carib News Foundation.'' The OCE has 
not been able to identify any additional activity, other than 
the annual Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference, in 
which the latter organization is involved. Furthermore, while 
``Carib News Charities, Inc''/``Carib News Foundation'' is 
listed with New York's Office of the Secretary of State as a 
domestic not-for-profit corporation, it is not listed, as 
required by law, with the New York State Charities Bureau. In 
addition, there is no evidence that the organization has filed 
a tax return with the IRS, under either name, since 2005.\99\ 
According to Publication 78 of the IRS, a list of all charities 
claiming 501(c) status, Carib Charities, Inc is a private 
foundation.\100\
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    \99\ Letter from IRS to OCE (Apr. 17, 2009) (Exhibit 8 at 09-2222--
98-115).
    \100\ Online Version of Publication 78 (Accessed online on June 5, 
2009 at http://www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/) (Exhibit 8 at 09-2222--114-
115).
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    106. Every organization that qualifies for tax exemption 
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is 
defined as a private foundation unless the organization falls 
into one of the categories specifically excluded from the 
definition under section 509(a).\101\ In effect, the definition 
divides 501(c)(3) organizations into two classes: private 
foundations and public charities. Private foundations are 
generally funded through a single donor, family or corporation 
and operate through investment income; whereas, public 
charities are typically funded and operated through diversified 
support from governmental sources and the general public.
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    \101\ 26 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 501 and 509.
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    107. There are several restrictions that are placed on 
private foundations. At issue here is the restriction on 
``self-dealing'' between a disqualified person (the definition 
of which includes Members of Congress) and a private 
foundation.\102\ The Code defines the act of ``self-dealing'' 
to include any direct or indirect agreement to make any payment 
of money (including reimbursement of expenses) or other 
property by a private foundation to a government official.\103\ 
Although framed as a tax provision, the statute essentially 
bars certain federal employees and federally elected officials 
from receiving compensation, including reimbursements for 
international travel, from a private foundation.\104\
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    \102\ 26 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 4941 and 4946.
    \103\ 26 U.S.C. Sec. 4941(d)(1)(F). The Code imposes a tax 
(currently 10 percent of the amount involved) on the illegal payments, 
with later penalties (up to $20,000 per act of self-dealing) for 
failure to pay back the foundation. The tax is imposed on the 
disqualified person, including a government official if the official 
participates in the act of self-dealing knowingly.
    \104\ The payment or reimbursement of travel expenses for travel 
solely from one point in the United States to another point in the 
United States is excepted from the definition of self-dealing provided 
that the payment or reimbursement does not exceed the actual cost of 
the transportation involved and provided the amount for all other 
traveling expenses does not exceed 125 percent of the maximum amount 
payable under section 5702 of title 5, United States Code, for like 
travel by employees of the United States. 26 U.S.C. 
Sec. 4941(d)(2)(G)(vii).
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    108. As such, it appears that the Carib News Foundation's 
payment of travel expenses for Representative Kilpatrick and 
her acceptance of payment potentially violated the Internal 
Revenue Code.
    109. The Board infers from the fact that the Standards 
Committee approved the reimbursement that the Standards 
Committee is unaware of this restriction. The Board notes, 
however, that its own research revealed that numerous other 
ethics-related entities in the federal government are aware of 
this restriction, and have for some time been enforcing 
it.\105\
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    \105\ Memorandum from Ethics Counsel at the National Institutes of 
Health to Deputy Ethics Counsels at NIH (Jun. 2, 2000) (Exhibit 25 at 
09-2222--278).
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    110. Congressman Thompson told the OCE that he was unaware 
of any limitations on the ability of private foundations to pay 
for overseas travel by government officials.\106\
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    \106\ Memorandum of Interview of Representative Bennie Thompson 
(May 6, 2009) (Exhibit 2 at 09-2222--27).
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    111. The Board notes that these facts show failures at 
multiple points by multiple parties in complying with and 
enforcing the travel rules. Inaccurate information was provided 
by the Carib News Foundation to Members and the Standards 
Committee. Congressman Thompson certified inaccurate 
information to the Standards Committee. The counsel to the 
former Chair of the Standards Committee intervened in the 
review process in a way that both frustrated the process in 
2007 and set a pattern of obfuscation that continued in 2008. 
Finally, the Standards Committee appears unaware of limitations 
on the ability of private foundations to pay for overseas 
travel by Members.
    112. For all these reasons, the Board concludes further 
review of this matter by the Standards Committee is 
appropriate.



