http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/mollohan;_ylt=AnSM1zNdVa57DDYsbvei6Bis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--Senior Democrat Exits House Ethics Panel
By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The top Democrat on the House ethics committee, Alan Mollohan, will leave the panel — at least temporarily — while he defends his own financial conduct, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Friday.
Mollohan's decision comes in an election year when his party is accusing majority Republicans of allowing a "culture of corruption" in Congress.
Mollohan, of West Virginia, will be replaced by Rep. Howard Berman (news, bio, voting record) of California, a former ranking Democrat on the panel. Mollohan has denied any wrongdoing.
The only evenly divided panel in the House, the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct has been divided along partisan lines for the past 16 months and unable to launch any major new investigations. If Mollohan had stayed while under his own ethics cloud, the chances for the stalemate to end would have been almost impossible.