Fox News reports that the House has voted to "kill a resolution calling for an ethics investigation into potential quid pro quo between lobbyist campaign donations and lawmakers." Nothing new here, nothing surprising, just business as usual.
Of course, providing campaign contributions is legal. Legislators' sponsoring earmarks for expenditures that benefit particular companies is legal and permitted under House rules. However, any agreements to provide campaign contributions in exchange for earmarks benefiting the company whose officers or lobbyists make the contributions would appear to be bribery.
According to Fox News, "Flake's resolution was a direct response to the ongoing federal investigation into the PMA Group, a lobbying company accused of making fraudulent donations to lawmakers using names of people who did not exist." Such donations would be illegal as to PMA, but not necessarily as to the recipient of the donations. They would not necessarily be held to know their fraudulent nature. However, lawmakers cannot turn a blind eye to illegal conduct.
The vote on the bill was along party lines with only 17 Democrats joining Republicans in a 226-182 losing vote.
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