Democrats in Glass Houses

The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that Rep. Alan Mollohan's (D-WV) household assets grew from some $565,000 in the year 2000, to in excess of $6.3 million by 2004. This is probably owed to ... oh, I don't know - kids finishing college and really good money management, right?

You might think so, but the Journal suggests another reason: "Mollohan and his wife had more than $2,000,000 in real estate investments with a former staffer, Laura Kuhns, and her husband... Interestingly, Kuhns heads the non-profit Vandalia Heritage Foundation, which has received $28 million in federal earmarks from the Congressional Appropriations Committees since 2000. She was also on the board of other nonprofit groups which had received over $100 million in earmarks of federal funds during the same period with Mollohan’s help."

How did Mollohan help? Oh - did I forget to mention he's the 6th ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee? Interestingly, his West Virginia colleague Robert Byrd (insert your own joke here) is the Senior Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Starting to sound like Congressional Democrats ought to be careful when they accuse Republicans of abusing the public trust?

Mollohan's response is here:

"The Wall Street Journal today published an article which details some of the funding that I have secured for the 1st Congressional District through my position on the House Appropriations Committee.

"The article also reports on a complaint that has been filed against me by what the newspaper describes as a 'conservative' and 'self-styled' ethics-in-government' group.

"First, regarding my work on the House Appropriations Committee: since taking office in January 1983, my top priority has been to help my congressional district in every way possible. That remains my top priority to this day.

"I am proud of the nonprofit groups that have been established to address needs which exist in northern West Virginia, focusing on economic and community development. I have worked aggressively to secure funds to enable these groups to carry out their worthy missions. And by every measure I know, they have been highly effective in achieving the purposes for which they were created.

"These groups were not created to benefit me in any way, and they never have.

"Second, regarding the complaint the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) asserts that it has prepared and forwarded to the U.S. attorney's office: I welcome any legitimate review of the financial disclosure statements that I have filed.

"My family has long invested in real estate and, like many Americans, the value of our real estate holdings has increased significantly in recent years. This is especially true of property owned in the Washington, D.C., area, which has experienced an unprecedented real estate boom.

"As with any complaint, it is important to consider the source. The NLPC has in the past targeted Democrats with charges that later proved to be without merit. NLPC has even attacked unions and the AARP for standing up for the interests of their members. I am sure that my position as top-ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee makes me a tempting target for such an ultra-conservative, politically motivated group.

"In fact, it is extremely telling that by its own admission, the NLPC initiated its review of my records in May 2005. That happens to be days after I successfully stood up to the House Republican leadership over their attempts to weaken the House ethics rules.

"Obviously, I am in the crosshairs of the National Republican Party and like-minded entities, such as the NLPC. They are angry at me and I fully expect that from now until November, they will continue to make baseless charges against me, my record and my family.

"While no one looks forward to such a thing, I will vigorously defend my service and not be intimidated by their heavy-handed tactics."

That doesn't do much to address a pretty serious accusation. I'll be interested to see how long it takes Mollohan - the Senior Democrat on the House Ethics Committee, by the way - to come up with something better.