Lawmaker offended by FBI sting operation
If there is any doubt that state lawmakers see the rules of ethical rights and wrongs through distorted glasses, consider these reactions by lawmakers to last week’s indictments.
Rep. Ulysses Jones, D-Memphis, a co-sponsor of the legislation that led to the indictments, said he was “upset that legislation was used in this way.” Jones received what he called a campaign contribution from the fake company used to snare lawmakers. Jones was not indicted, but he was offended. “I’m offended. Just to do a sting operation is bad policy.”
We suspect Jones is not nearly as offended by the sting operation as average Tennesseans are by the outcome.
Then there is our venerable Lt. Gov. John Wilder, D-Mason, the longest serving elected state government official in the nation. In a heartfelt speech during the Senate’s final session, Wilder said it was wrong for FBI undercover agents to bait lawmakers with money.
With all due respect, Gov. Wilder, it was wrong for the lawmakers to take the money.
Other lawmakers reacting to the indictments said they were not surprised. Are lawmaker ethics violations so common in state government that no one is surprised when someone gets caught? Apparently so.
Consider that the only ethics legislation passed during the session is one that forbids lawmakers from taking consulting fees from companies wanting to affect legislation or do business with the state. But legislation that would have forced lawmakers to disclose the sources of their income and to require lobbyists to detail their spending on lawmakers, went down to defeat.
These are the attitudes that guiding many lawmakers’ thinking these days. Is it any wonder that the only way to get their intention on ethics issues is through a federal corruption indictment?
Information from: The Jackson Sun, www.jacksonsun.com