Robert Walker Discusses Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s Employment of Indicted IT Consultant

August 10, 2017

Robert L. Walker, of counsel in Wiley Rein’s Election Law & Government Ethics Practice, was interviewed by HBO’s VICE News Tonight about ethical questions surrounding Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s response to the criminal investigation of an information technology specialist who had worked as a consultant in her office. Though the investigation came to light in February, Rep. Wasserman Schultz reportedly continued to employ the contractor until his arrest in July on a charge of bank fraud.

In a VICE report that aired August 8, Mr. Walker, a former chief counsel and staff director for both the House and Senate ethics committees, said Rep. Wasserman Schultz should get out ahead of any formal ethics investigation.

“I think she’s made her case publicly, and explained publicly why she kept him on or how it was she thought it was appropriate to keep him on, and the circumstances,” Mr. Walker said. “If she were my client, I would advise her to put that same information in a letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics and say, ‘Here’s why this complaint does not have merit.’”

The August 8 episode of VICE News Tonight can be found here (HBO subscription required).