June 20, 2013

Judge lets D.C. ethics board opinion stand against Councilman Jim Graham

BY: ALAN BLINDER FEBRUARY 22, 2013 | 1:07 PM | MODIFIED: FEBRUARY 22, 2013 AT 1:10 PM
Leave a comment

A D.C. judge refused Friday to require the city's ethics board to withdraw its opinion that said it had "substantial evidence" of misconduct by Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham.

"Mr. Graham has not met the standards for the issuance of a temporary restraining order," D.C. Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein said.

Caroline Mehta, a lawyer for Graham, said she was "undeterred."

Epstein's ruling came one day after Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he would pursue a resolution of reprimand against Graham, who offered in 2008 to trade his vote on the city's $38 million lottery contract in exchange for a company agreeing to withdraw its bid for a development project.

The council is scheduled to vote on the resolution Monday, and Graham has denied any wrongdoing.

His lawyers sought to overturn an ethics board opinion from earlier this month because they felt he didn't have a chance to defend himself adequately before the panel issued its opinion.

The ethics board said it believed Graham had engaged in misconduct, but it declined to sanction him because of constitutional concerns and did not open a formal investigation.

ablinder@washingtonexaminer.com

View article comments Leave a comment
Author:

Alan Blinder

Staff Reporter, D.C. City Hall
The Washington Examiner

More from washingtonexaminer.com

Related Videos

Related Articles

From the Weekly Standard

  • June 17, 1953

    Today, speaking at the Brandenburg Gate, President Obama paid appropriate tribute to the brave East Germans who rebelled 60 years ago against Communist dictatorship:

    Read More...
  • Problems of the Second Generation

    The Boston Marathon bombings highlighted, once again, the challenges of assimilating Muslim youth. And while the onus of accountability ought not rest exclusively on Muslim Americans, it...

    Read More...
  • Release Osama Bin Laden’s Files on Taliban

    The Obama administration announced on Tuesday that it was moving forward with its attempt to negotiate with the Taliban, which has opened a long-awaited political office in Doha, Qatar. The...

    Read More...