
News Stories
- Behind the scenes at House ethics committees
November 20, 2009 - Consequences for ethical lapses on Capitol Hill
November 19, 2009 - Editorial: Asking questions
November 19, 2009 - Congresswoman Maxine Waters faces ethics probe
November 18, 2009 - Congresswoman Laura Richardson faces ethics probe
November 17, 2009 - Hive of Scum and Villainy
November 14, 2009 - Ethics Panel Should Do Its Job
November 8, 2009 - Kaptur wants the full story on ethics leak
November 5, 2009 - Richardson Faces Ethics Investigation
November 4, 2009 - House Democratic caucus headed for a racial blow-up?
November 3, 2009 - Ethics breach
October 30, 2009 - Disclosure of List Threatens House Inquiries
October 30, 2009 - House committee investigating California representative
October 30, 2009 - News Of Ethics Probes Rocks Washington
October 30, 2009 - Congressional defense appropriations subcommittee rocked by ethics probe leaked by hacker: report
October 30, 2009 - Ethics probe so big lawmakers have to take a number -- half the Pentagon spending committee caught in net
October 30, 2009 - House Ethics Committee Votes to Investigate Rep. Laura Richardson
October 30, 2009 - Ethics Inquiries Into Lawmakers Surface via Security Breach
October 30, 2009 - Lawmakers targeted in ethics probe
October 30, 2009 - Will Ethics Probe Take Down any Lawmakers?
October 30, 2009 - Ethics Committee Opens Investigations Into Waters, Richardson
October 29, 2009 - Richardson case sent to ethics panel
October 28, 2009 - Lobbying World
October 14, 2009 - Article eyes Richardson staff turnover
September 24, 2009 - Richardson’s congressional tenure marked by high staff turnover
September 23, 2009 - Watchdog group critical of Richardson
September 17, 2009 - Rep. Richardson Makes 'Most Corrupt' List for 2nd Year
September 17, 2009 - Democrats now comprise majority of ‘most corrupt in Congress’ list
September 16, 2009 - Californians represented on most corrupt members of Congress list
September 15, 2009 - House Members Vote Today on Resolution Condemning the Mote in Joe Wilson's Eye
September 15, 2009 - Watchdog: McConnell, Burris, Ensign among D.C.'s 'Most Corrupt
September 15, 2009 - House Ethics Inquiry Has Roots in Untidy Yard
August 17, 2009 - Ethics Commitee To Investigate Rep. Richardson?
July 29, 2009 - Rep. Richardson's Sacramento home is focus of House ethics probe
July 29, 2009 - Calif. Congresswoman's Home Is "A Mess"
June 15, 2009 - Congresswoman's Abandoned House Angers Neighbors
June 12, 2009 - The Committee to Reinflate the Bubble
June 9, 2009 - Golden State House Members Make Watchdog Group List
December 9, 2008 - Four CA Reps among "Most Embarrasing"
December 9, 2008 - Bachmann One of 9 'Most Embarrassing' Members of Congress
December 9, 2008 - Richardson Lays out Finances
November 3, 2008 - Richardson's Rival Wants House Probe
October 31, 2008 - Richardson's Sacramento Code Violation Case is Dropped
October 3, 2008 - MORE ON RICHARDSON OPPONENT LEE DAVIS
September 15, 2008 - Five from CA make 'most corrupt' in Congress list
September 10, 2008
The 15 most corrupt members of Congress
- Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
- Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL)
- Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA)
- Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA)
- Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)
- Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
- Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D-WV)
- Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA)
- Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)
- Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)
- Rep. Pete Visclosky (D-IN)
- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA)
- Rep. Don Young (R-AK)
Dishonorable mentions
Rep. Laura Richardson (D-CA)

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Representative Laura Richardson (D-CA) is a two-term member of Congress, representing California’s 37th congressional district. Rep. Richardson’s ethics issues stem from accepting favorable loans and her failure to properly report a loan on her financial disclosure statements. Rep. Richardson was included in CREW’s 2008 report on congressional corruption.
Falling into Foreclosure
In May 2008, Rep. Richardson’s Sacramento home was sold in foreclosure. She claimed that this had happened without her knowledge and contrary to an agreement with her lender. Rep. Richardson had failed to make mortgage payments on the property for nearly a year and had defaulted on other home loans as well. Rep. Richardson also failed to include the mortgage on her Sacramento home on her personal financial disclosure statements. According to press reports, Rep. Richardson has defaulted on loans at least eight times on properties she owns in Long Beach, San Pedro and Sacramento. She also failed to pay approximately $9,000 in property taxes on the Sacramento residence. At the same time that Rep. Richardson was missing payments and failing to pay her taxes, in June and July 2007, she made three loans to her congressional campaign totaling $77,500.
On June 2, 2008, Washington Mutual Bank, Rep. Richardson’s lender, filed a notice of rescission of the foreclosure sale. By that time, James York, the man who had purchased the Sacramento home, had already invested money cleaning up the house and preparing it for resale. As a result, Mr. York filed suit against Rep. Richardson and Washington Mutual, alleging that Rep. Richardson received preferential treatment from Washington Mutual because of her position as a member of Congress. In July 2008, Mr. York dropped his suit, allowing Rep. Richardson to reclaim the home.
In October 2008, Rep. Richardson shared her personal financial records with her hometown paper in order to show she was up-to-date on previously defaulted home loans. She claimed the loans for her Long Beach, Sacramento, and San Pedro homes had been modified and that her finances were in order. Rep. Richardson’s amended 2007 and 2008 personal financial disclosures failed, however, to include the mortgage loans for her properties in Long Beach, Sacramento, and San Pedro.
Rep. Richardson’s housing issues have continued to plague the Sacramento neighborhood where one of her homes is located. In 2008, the Sacramento Code Enforcement Department declared her home a “public nuisance.” After visits to the home, city inspectors reported they found junk and debris in the driveway and rotting fruit in the backyard, attracting rodents. In May 2009, after neighbors complained about the home’s overgrown yard, the city posted another violation requiring that the lawn be mowed. The lawn was mowed but issues with the upkeep of the house did not end. Neighbors e-mailed and wrote letters complaining about the state of the home to Rep. Richardson and to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to no avail. Eventually, neighbors began taking care of the house themselves: paying gardeners to mow the lawn, water plants, and rake leaves.
Office of Congressional Ethics Investigation
In July 2009, it was reported that the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) had launched an investigation into the circumstances around the temporary foreclosure of Rep. Richardson’s Sacramento home and whether House gift rules were violated when neighbors spent money to clean up her property. The OCE contacted Mr. York and interviewed neighbors about the expenses they incurred cleaning up Rep. Richardson’s yard.
Legal Fees
Rep. Richardson’s campaign committee’s amended July 2009 quarterly report indicated the committee paid $6,000, and owed $36,474.43 in legal fees. In the campaign committee’s original July 2009 quarterly report, there was an additional $10,000 reported for legal services, but that was removed in the amended July quarterly report.
