Rep. Schweikert wants investigations to determine accused politicians’ fate
Nov 21, 2017, 11:18 AM
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PHOENIX — U.S. Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona said politicians accused of misconduct should be investigated before colleagues demanded their resignations.
“I’m a big fan of you follow the rules, follow the process. We have a really robust ethics committee,” Schweikert, a Republican, said Tuesday on KTAR 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.
High-ranking Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee were seeking an ethics inquiry into fellow Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich.) after a news report said he had sexually harassed then fired a woman who had refused his advances.
It was the second straight week an elected official in Washington, D.C. was hit with misconduct allegations.
“If we have clowns that have been abusing their position, particularly when you consider we have all these twentysomething freaky smart young people running around Capitol Hill and then there’s a bunch of us who are gray hairs who are elected … you’ve got to live in an environment of rules and discipline,” Schweikert said.
“I wish we’d had this same standard 20 years when President Clinton had this level of accusations and abuse.”
In December 1998, the House of Representatives began impeachment proceedings against Clinton over accusations of an affair with an intern. The 42nd president was charged with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstruction of justice.
Clinton was impeached on two articles but the Senate eventually acquitted him, so he was not forced from office.
