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GOP rep faces ethics complaint over 'Downton Abbey' decorations
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| Contributor | IndyGeorgia |
| Last Edited | IndyGeorgia Feb 04, 2015 04:45pm |
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| Category | Investigation |
| Author | Scott Wong |
| News Date | Wednesday, February 4, 2015 10:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) is dealing with more drama due to his “Downton Abbey”-inspired office decorations.
A government watchdog is calling on ethics officials to investigate the Illinois Republican for allegedly accepting free services from an Illinois interior decorator and paying for new furniture — including a gold sconce, “drippy crystal chandelier” and large arrangements of pheasant feathers — with campaign funds.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, also known as CREW, filed the complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics on Tuesday, after a story in The Washington Post described the ornate renovation in Schock’s Rayburn House building office.
Interior designer Annie Brahler reportedly volunteered her services and pulled ideas from the popular PBS British drama series “Downton Abbey.” She had also decorated his previous office in the Cannon House Office Building, where USA Today reported that taxpayers picked up the tab for tens of thousands of dollars for office renovations.
House ethics rules bar members from accepting free gifts or services, or using campaign funds to pay for furniture in their offices.
CREW interim Executive Director Anne L. Weismann called on the ethics office to investigate Schock’s actions and forward the matter to the House Ethics Committee, writing that gifts to members “create an appearance of impropriety that may undermine the public’s faith in government, and may provide the opportunity for improperly influencing members.”
“Perhaps it’s not totally surprising that the same congressman who spent campaign money on P90X workout DVDs wanted to create a more picturesque setting in which to be photographed, but the rules clearly require him to pay for those renovations himself,” Weismann said in a statement.
“Again and again, Rep. Schock’s seeming obsession with his image impedes his ability to conduct himself in ethical manner.” |
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