Watchdog group lists Pearce, Domenici and Wilson among the 22 most corrupt members of Congress

A Washington-based watchdog group released today its list of the 22 most corrupt members of the United States Congress. New Mexico’s three Republicans all made the list.

It was no surprise to see U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Heather Wilson on the list, which was compiled by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. The group filed formal complaints against Domenici and Wilson in March over their involvement in the U.S. attorney scandal.

But the complaint against U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce involves allegations that have been previously unknown to the general public, and at least one of the allegations could be serious.

The group’s list includes 18 Republicans and four Democrats. The full report can be found by clicking here. This is the third year CREW has released such a list, but the first time any member of Congress from New Mexico has been included.

Pearce failed to report financial transaction

Pearce’s inclusion on the list, according to the Web site the group set up, stems from “his failure to properly report a transaction on his financial disclosure report and from trading legislative assistance for campaign contributions.”

A spokesman for Pearce refused to comment, saying he would not release a statement to this site until after it was published in an Albuquerque newspaper.

The complaint states that Pearce was president of Lea Fishing Tools, Inc. in the fall of 2003, and sold the company’s assets to Key Energy Services for more than 540,000 shares of stock. Pearce failed to report that in his 2003 financial disclosure report, the complaint states.

“After selling Lea Fishing Tools’ assets to Key Energy, Rep. Pearce was required to report the sale on his financial disclosure form as a transaction, but he failed to do so,” the complaint states. “By failing to list the sale, Rep. Pearce appears to have violated the Ethics in Government Act.”

In addition, the group points out that Pearce has been an advocate of drilling on the Otero Mesa. The Bureau of Land Management initially opposed drilling, but reversed its position in 2000 and proposed opening more than one million acres to drilling.

The turnaround coincided with Yates Petroleum, the largest lease holder on the Otero Mesa, donating more than $230,000 to GOP candidates over the last three election cycles, the complaint states. Yates Petroleum has been Pearce’s biggest supporter since 2002, giving $32,490. Individual members of the Yates family, the complaint states, have given $78,379.99 to Pearce.

“If Rep. Pearce advocated opening up Otero Mesa to drilling in exchange for campaign contributions, he may have violated the bribery statute or accepted illegal gratuities,” the complaint states.

You can read the full report about Pearce by clicking here, and the documents that support the complaint by clicking here.

Group stays on Domenici, Wilson

Domenici and Wilson, the group alleges, violated congressional rules in calling former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias in October 2006 to inquire about a pending public corruption case that involved high-ranking Democrats. Iglesias alleges that both pressured him to speed indictments to sway voters in the November 2006 election.

The group alleges on its page dedicated to Domenici that senator did pressure Iglesias in violation of Senate rules. It alleges on its page about Wilson that she violated House rules by calling Iglesias, regardless of whether she tried to pressure the former U.S. attorney.

A spokesman for Wilson said he had no comment. A spokeswoman for Domenici’s office also declined to comment.

The impact

The report will result in another negative news cycle about the U.S. attorney scandal for Domenici and Wilson, who have both been dogged by the controversy since it exploded in the spring. Both are targets of ethics investigations, and the full impact the scandal will have on their political futures is unknown. Both are up for re-election next year.

If the first allegation against Pearce is true, his failure to report the sale of Lea Fishing Tools could have been a simple mistake. It may not have been a simple mistake. Regardless, a public that is increasingly skeptical of its public officials may have a hard time believing the best about a congressman who is a multimillionaire.

The situation with Yates Petroleum and the Otero Mesa may mean Pearce gets added to the list of New Mexico politicos who have created the appearance of pay-to-play politics, but that problem is so endemic among the state’s Democrats and Republicans that it’s likely to have little effect on his popularity. Gov. Bill Richardson has repeatedly created such an appearance, but he remains one of the most popular governors in the state’s history.

The failure to report the financial transaction, on the other hand, has the potential to be an actual violation of a federal rule, and Pearce could face an ethics investigation. It’s too early to tell whether this has the potential to grow into a scandal that could affect his 2008 re-election bid.

This article has been updated to clarify a statement in the third-to-last paragraph.