[...] against Democrats that they’ve started to look as though they are grasping at straws. I wrote about this topic in early March, after Republicans filed an ethics complaint against Democratic Rep. Angie [...]

Press Release: (Fort Collins, CO) Partisan Republicans are behind a politically motivated ethics complaint, which was unanimously dismissed in the Colorado state legislature today. A few days before the ethics complaint against congressional candidate Angie Paccione was filed, Charlie and Sally Fox were recognized at a Larimer Republican Party event where Sally Fox was honored into the “Hall of Fame.” Photos on the party web site show Marilyn Musgrave cavorting with the Foxes. (www.larimergop.org ). The Rocky Mountain News reported that “Chuck Fox, his wife, Sally, and his mother, Virginia Davis, all signed the complaint.” The article said Fox “said he doesn't know who wrote the letter, but when he was asked to sign it, he did.” A search of the web site www.opensecrets.org revealed that the Fox’s have contributed over $800 to Musgrave’s campaigns. This is the same event where the Coloradoan reported two uniform soldiers attended, and Musgrave and Republicans attempted to use them as political prop. That article features a photo of the congresswoman and one of the two uniform soldiers in attendance. Musgrave was MC at a political event that ignored a Department of Defense directive that prohibits active military personnel from participating in partisan political meetings while in uniform. There were two uniformed soldiers at the event. One was placed in a photograph on Musgrave’s web site until it was hurriedly pulled down in the last couple days. “This is more of the same from Marilyn. I can see why Marilyn would want to distract attention away from the fact that she was on the list of the “13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress” while not getting things done on the most important issues. This groundless complaint raises the question of were they rewarding friends at the Republican dinner for their politically motivated complaint and for their contributions to Marilyn’s campaign,” said Paccione. The list of the 13 most corrupt Members of Congress is posted online, on a website sponsored by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonpartisan group in Washington D.C. Their mission is to provide the public with information on government officials who “sacrifice the common good to special interests,” by making Americans aware of those who betray the public’s trust. The ethics complaint against Paccione was unanimously rejected. The resolution language states that the bi-partisan House committee said “We unanimously conclude that the complaint does not state an ethical violation and must be dismissed. We do not see anything that rises to the level of an ethical violation” Paccione said, “Marilyn is on the list of the 13 most corrupt leaders. She voted on multiple occasions to weaken ethics laws, and she took $30,000 from Tom DeLay. She is the poster child for the culture of corruption in D.C. and now there is speculation that she paid off her financial supporters in an attempt to distract attention from her record on ethics.” As for the complaint filed against her, Paccione admits her campaign made a mistake and has taken action to make sure it does not happen again. She said the problem was corrected on the same day it occurred and she accepts full responsibility for her campaign. Paccione noted that Musgrave’s record of questionable ethics and links to influence peddling are wide spread. She said, “The heart of this matter is an accidental email versus influence peddling. Marilyn Musgrave accepted tens of thousands of dollars from Tom DeLay, and then she voted to change the rules in Congress to help him hang on to power.” Two questions remain: “Was there a quid pro quo with DeLay trading contributions for votes? Was there a quid pro quo with the Fox’s trading an award to help with a “dirty trick?” Paccione added.