Michele Bachmann's Pattern of Ethical Lapses

DFL Press Release:

Representative Bachmann’s Latest House Ethics Misstep



St. Paul (November 11, 2009) —The DFL Party released this statement from Chair Brian Melendez on Representative Michele Bachmann’s most recent bending of the rules and guidance of the U.S. House of Representatives:



“Representative Michele Bachmann operates as if rules that aren’t convenient just don’t apply to her. She has repeatedly flouted House ethics rules in order to promote her extremist, partisan stunts. Her anti-health-care rally at the Capitol last week is just the latest in a mounting series of infractions.



“Representative Bachmann has a lot to say about the important legislation that the President and congressional leadership are advancing, even though her comments suggest that she hasn’t read the legislation. But even if she doesn’t have time to read each bill that she talks about, she should at least read the four House ethics documents that govern her communications in her official capacity as an elected representative. As citizens in a constitutional democracy, we live under the rule of law, and we can’t just ignore the laws that we don’t like. Representative Bachmann is no exception.”



BACHMANN CONSISTENTLY CHOOSES TO STICK TO HARD-LINE POLITICAL SLOGANS RATHER THAN RESPECT THE RULE OF LAW



Bachmann’s anti-health-insurance reform rally at the Capitol last week used official resources to lobby for her partisan position. “The Committee on House Administration rules on the use of official resources seem pretty explicit on prohibiting precisely this kind of announcement, presumably because it blurs the line between members' right to publicize constituent town halls and their use of the franking [or Webbing] privilege for party- or movement-building purposes.” [Politico, 11/11/09]



Michele Bachmann Violated Ethics Rules and Used Taxpayer Dollars to Advertise for a Partisan Agenda. “Michele Bachmann’s office violated House Franking Rules by using taxpayer resources to tell constituents to call the National Automobile Dealer’s Association. House offices can’t even encourage people to donate blood, let alone ask them to call a national organization to get legal representation. Unsurprisingly, Bachmann has received $13,000 from that very same organization in 2006 and 2008.” [MN Publius, 7/29/2009]



· Representative Bachmann inappropriately linked to a partisan third-party website. “Bachmann is improperly linking from her federally-funded house.gov site to the highly-partisan Townhall.com. It is deceptive as it is integrated as part of the navigation of the page and with the use of the RSS icon, a symbol used to indicate a feed related to the page you’re currently on.” [MN Publius, 7/29/2009]

Michele Bachmann broke the law by refusing to answer questions on the 2010 U.S. Census survey. “Shelly Lowe, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Census Bureau, said Mrs. Bachmann is "misreading" the law. She [cited] a portion of the U.S. legal code that says anyone over 18 years of age who refuses to answer "any of the questions" on the census can be fined up to $5,000.” [The Washington Times, 6/17/2009]

· Even Rep. Bachmann’s colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives would not support her disregard for the law in boycotting the Census. “But in Washington, as well as in the land of Minnesota nice, Bachmann’s unwavering stance against completing the entire census form -- and not just the parts she wants to fill out -- has folks fuming. Three of her fellow GOP lawmakers -- Reps. Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia, John Mica from Florida and Patrick McHenry of North Carolina -- have slammed Bachmann for her stance, saying in a statement that her boycott is illogical and illegal.” [Los Angeles Times, 7/23/2009]