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Kerry, Senate Secretary Facing Ethics Complaint
By Jeff Gannon
Talon News
June 17, 2004

WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) met with Secretary of the Senate Emily Reynolds Wednesday to discuss ethics complaints stemming from his prolonged absence from the legislative body while he campaigns for president. Kerry and Reynolds were spotted by Congressional staffers slipping into one of the many antechambers of the Capitol where the pair likely reviewed options for dealing with the complaints filed against both of them.

A complaint filed by Hofstra law student Jonathan Stein accuses Reynolds of willfully violating a federal statute that requires her to make deductions from Kerry's Senate paycheck for his absences. Kerry is also named in the complaint for knowingly accepting salary to which he is not entitled.

The issue was first raised in a March 2004 letter to Reynolds from American Conservative Union Chairman David Keene who requested that she enforce the statute concerning Kerry's salary. Reynolds responded to Keene's letter, refusing to enforce the statute because her predecessors had not done so in other cases.

Stein points out in his complaint that the failures of others who previously held Reynolds' position could not establish precedent since the statute clearly says that the Secretary of the Senate "shall" make the appropriate deductions. Stein contends that the language used in the rule is unequivocal and mandatory, allowing no instance for exception or discretion.

Stein also believes that Sen. Kerry, who holds a license to practice law, should be "held to a higher standard of legal conduct than the ordinary citizen, as it is [his] job and role to know, interpret, and promulgate the law."

Stein suggests that the Ethics Committee direct Kerry to return funds he was overpaid and decline to accept future illegal payments from the federal treasury.

Stein told Talon News that Robert Walker, Chief Counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, confirmed receipt of his letter of complaint. He also said that Walker did not indicate if or when the committee might take up the matter.

The Hofstra law student told Talon News that he decided to file the complaint in the interest of "preserving the rule of law."

Having recently completed coursework on constitutional law, he says that he is exercising his First Amendment right to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Stein says that the law in this matter is "absolutely clear" and lawmakers cannot consider themselves above it.

Kerry has voted only 14 times out of the Senate's 112 votes this year, a record Stein says is "egregious."

Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, who recently called on Kerry to resign his seat, citing his dismal attendance record, shares that opinion.

She said, "If any of us attended our job only 13 percent of the time, we'd be fired."

Healey went on to say, "It's not fair, it's not right, and the public is not being well served."

"I'm calling on John Kerry to resign so that we can fill that office with someone who is 100 percent devoted to the job of representing the people of Massachusetts," Healey added.

Copyright © 2004 Talon News -- All rights reserved

An interesting point, even though it is too transparent in its political motivation.

The fact that it has never been done in the past says a lot too. It's a case of your tax dollars inaction.

While I agree that a 13 % voting record is abysmal, I would be curious to see the record of the other 99 senators during that same period. Then too, what about Bush's fund raising on government time? Should that be an issue? Then there is the problem of the entire House of Representatives and 1/3 of the Senate grinding to a halt every two years for elections.

Perhaps Kerry should resign his senate seat once he has officially accepted the nomination for president. Not sure. It's a sticky issue.

Hogwash.
This is a very TEMPORARY problem.
Easily and soon to be solved by the ELECTION of Kerry in early November.
However, I do think Kerry should do a better job of showing up for CLOSE votes.

I believe Bob Dole resigned Senate to run for President. At what point, before or after nomination, I do not know. You would think there should be precedent for this matter.

Yes, Kerrys:

-betrayal of this country,

-betrayal of his radical left roots, (you tequila should be outraged by this)

-and let's not forget his betrayal of his Catholic faith,

yes, those are all hogwash, LOL.

Support your ridiculous charges with SPECIFICS, OK?

So Kerry betrayed his country? Please explain what you mean by this.

So he betrayed his radical left wing roots. WHAT radical left wing roots? You mean how he acted during the Viet Nam protest years? Viet Nam is long over. BTW, I am not particularly radical myself. I only SEEM SO to you, from the perspective of your right wing reactionary universe. The important thing is to boot Bush outta there.

Betrayal of his faith? That is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS. If you mean that he has a different view than the Pope on abortion, THAT IS A GOOD THING. We want our political leaders to be SECULAR leaders, NOT PREACHERS, and folks who proclaim they hear voices from God, like your deranged man Bush.

-He LIED about our good men in uniform while they died fighting the evils of communism in Vietnam.

-He constantly smypthazied with communists during the remander of and during the Cold War.

-He thought democracy and communism could "co-exist" LOL.

-This guy was voted MORE TO THE LEFT THAN TED KENNEDY, most liberal Senator in Senate.

-Kerry has MADE A MOCKERY OF THE CATHLOIC FAITH. Catholic doctrine CLEARLY STATES that ABORTION IS MURDER, I don't think that there's any religion that officially condones it. Kerry doesn't care what the Church or the Pope thinks, he puts his own political ambition before his faith.

-There is NO SUCH THING as a liberal Christian, not possible.