Ethics Panel Clears Shuster of Spying Charge

[NewJerseyDem]

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/50_7/news/6249-1.html (subcription required)

The House ethics committee absolved Rep. Bill Shuster of allegations that he paid a former Congressional aide to spy on a GOP primary opponent, the Pennsylvania Republican lawmaker said in a statement Wednesday.

But the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct chided Shuster for not being careful enough in documenting his payroll records.

The panel said that “much of the public controversy that has arisen on this matter could have been avoided had you followed the committee’s longstanding guidance of requiring staff members who do campaign work to maintain detailed time records.”

The former part-time staffer, Joshua Juda of Altoona, Pa., worked in Shuster’s district office. Juda said last year that he was directed by Shuster and the lawmaker’s top aide to monitor the home and daily activity of Michael DelGrosso, who narrowly lost to Shuster in a primary earlier this year.