Vitter makes annual list of most corrupt members of Congress

For the third time, Sen. David Vitter has been included on Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics’ annual “Most Corrupt Members of Congress” list. “The morally and ethically bankrupt senator attempted to bribe the Secretary of the Interior and pledged to continue the practice despite new guidance from the Senate Ethics Committee,” reads a news release from CREW explaining Vitter’s inclusion, noting he also made the list in 2007 and 2001. “There likely is no senator who has been before the Senate Ethics Committee more often than Sen. Vitter. He has solicited prostitutes, employed a known criminal, and tried to bribe a Cabinet member,” says CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “Time and time again, he has walked away virtually unscathed. What will it take for the Senate Ethics Committee to hold Sen. Vitter responsible for his endless string of misconduct?” Vitter is the only Louisiana representative on this year’s list, which includes seven Democrats and 13 Republicans; nine are repeat offenders. Since 2005, Washington, D.C.-based CREW has named 81 members of Congress to the list, and notes 32 of them are no longer in office. See this year’s complete list, as well as reports on all those included, here. The publication of the list comes just two days before the Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish will honor Vitter as its Man of the Year at the Ronald Reagan Awards Brunch in Baton Rouge.