She's a Democrat. And apparently really dumb.
Rep. Marcia Fudge has introduced legislation that would weaken a congressional ethics office that found her top aide improperly helped Congressional Black Caucus members take a free Caribbean trip that was funded by corporations.
The Warrensville Heights Democrat introduced legislation Friday to restrict disclosure of investigations by the Office of Congressional Ethics and require it to have a sworn complaint from a citizen with personal knowledge of alleged wrongdoing before initiating a probe.
Ethics watchdogs said Fudge's resolution would gut the independent office that Congress created after corruption scandals cast doubt on the House Ethics Committee's effectiveness.
The resolution's 19 cosponsors are all members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Many of them went on Carib News trips.
Melanie Sloan, who heads the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Fudge's resolution would make the ethics office "entirely ineffectual without killing it altogether." She doubts it will be approved because Congress won't want to look soft on ethics before a tough election.
