Congressional Ethics: The Fox and the Henhouse1

Abstract

Members of Congress have conflicting responsibilities between advancing the public's interest while advocating for the private interests of constituents. This research examines the association between political corruption and the increased devotion to constituent casework. It creates a congressional corruption matrix that gives rise to four types of political corruption illuminated through descriptions of the Abscam Scandal, the Duke Cunningham Scandal, the Keating Five Scandal, and the Jack Abramoff Scandal. It makes a distinction between individual and institutional forms of corruption and differentiates between personal gain and career advancing varieties of corruption. This article contends that Congress is disinclined to enact and enforce substantive reforms in career advancing forms of corruption because of a shared institutional value in expanding politically beneficial activities.