The Senate Ethics Committee has dismissed a complaint brought by Judicial Watch, which calls itself a conservative, non-partisan government watchdog group, against U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, just days before Dodd is set to leave office.
In a Dec. 20 letter to Judicial Watch President Thomas Fitton, John C. Sassaman, chief counsel and staff director for the bipartisan committee, stated there was "not sufficient credible evidence of improper conduct or violation...to warrant further action by the committee.''
Judicial Watch filed a complaint against Dodd in April, 2009, alleging that Dodd helped longtime friend Edward Downe Jr. obtain a reduced sentence for violations of tax and security laws and eventually helped him win a pardon in 2001 from President Clinton.
The following year, Judicial Watch alleged, Dodd received a reduced, below-market sales price for an Irish cottage from Downe's associate, William Kessinger. The group also said Dodd failed to disclose the financial benefits he recieved by filing inaccurate financial disclosure statements from 2002 through at least 2007.
Dodd has always maintained he did nothing wrong. "Jackie and I have always believed that anyone who took the time to review the facts would see that Judicial Watch's complaint was nothing but a baseless, politically-motivated accusation,'' Dodd said in a statement released by his office late Wednesday.
"Even during a Congress when Republicans and Democrats did not agree on much, the Senate Ethics Committee - made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats - dismissed this complaint after a careful 20-month review of the facts. After this lengthy review, we appreciate the Ethics Committee's conclusion that this attack was wholly without merit,'' Dodd said.
Dodd's office and Judicial Watch both confirmed the ethics commission's ruling and Dodd released a pair of letters from the committee; however the committee's website contains no details.
Judicial Watch said the committee's decision to close the matter feeds cyncism in Washington.
"The evidence indicates Dodd helped out a crooked friend, received a cut-rate real estate deal on a property in Ireland in exchange, and then lied on his financial disclosure forms to cover it all up. This type of behavior is potentially criminal and certainly unethical, and it is shameful the Senate Ethics Committee failed to take this matter seriously," Fitton said in a statement posted on the group's website.
"The Senate Ethics Committee sat on our complaint for nearly two years, and then dismissed it out of hand days before Dodd's Senate career ends. Even in corrupt Washington, the Ethics Committee's despicable handling of the Dodd matter is about as bad it gets. No wonder Congress's approval rating is just 13 percent, an all-time low."