Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

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Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a Washington, DC-based advocacy organization which professes to fight corruption by U.S. government officials. One of their most visible projects is a biannual list of Washington politicians they label as the "most corrupt."

1 CREW publications
2 Background and criticism
3 Some cases with CREW involvement
4 CREW's "20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress"
5 References
6 External links

[edit] CREW publications

In January 2006, CREW published a report, "Beyond Delay: The Thirteen Most Corrupt Members of Congress," documenting the unethical activities of thirteen members of Congress, specifically ten House members and three senators. Although much of the information collected was already available from a variety of sources, CREW compiled the information into one reference document. The allegations against some of those on the list had been well publicized, while the activities of others had gone relatively unnoticed.

In September 2006, CREW issued a revised, 241-page report, "Beyond Delay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and Five to Watch)"[1] (see list below). The report added nine representatives (eight Republicans, one Democrat) to the "most corrupt" list, while removing two, Randy Cunningham and Bob Ney, who have pleaded guilty to felony charges against them. It also added five representatives (four Republicans, one Democrat) "to watch."

[edit] Background and criticism

CREW was founded in 2001 by Melanie Sloan, a former aide to Representative John Conyers and Senator Charles Schumer, as well as a former U.S. Attorney prosecuting sex crimes. She is now the organization's Executive Director. CREW also runs the website "JackInTheHouse", focusing on convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his various political connections.

According to The Washington Post, CREW is funded in part through the efforts of "Democracy Alliance," a loose group of approximately one hundred progressive-oriented political donors who saw CREW as a possible counterweight to the conservative-leaning Judicial Watch.^[1] Judicial Watch styles itself as "a non-profit, public interest law firm dedicated to fighting government corruption."

Senator Conrad Burns, one of those named by CREW as corrupt for his close ties to Abramoff, has said that the organization is "nothing but a group of partisan hacks doing the dirty work of Democrats."[2]

In response, CREW has stated they do have an agenda that goes beyond ethics. "We are progressive," said Naomi Seligman, the group's deputy director and a former spokeswoman for Senator Max Baucus of Montana. "We do work within a larger progressive infrastructure." Seligman suggested her group is the progressive counterweight to Judicial Watch.[3]