Jul 10th, 2009 | WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court says statements that lawmakers make during congressional ethics investigations cannot be used against them in criminal probes.
The case involves former Florida Republican Rep. Tom Feeney and a golf trip he took to Scotland, paid for by now-imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
The House Ethics Committee said the trip violated House rules and Feeney agreed to pay the U.S. Treasury more than $5,000, the purported cost of the trip.
The Court of Appeals in Washington revealed in a new opinion that the Justice Department began an investigation into statements Feeney made to the committee. The opinion, which did not name Feeney but described elements of his case, concluded that statements to the ethics committee are excluded from criminal investigations by the Constitution.
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