Richardson accused of another ethics lapse

Allegations of ethics violations mounted against Rep. Laura Richardson, D-Calif., now accused of instructing aides to work on redistricting. Richardson, under investigation on allegations she forced staff to perform political and personal tasks in violation of House rules, also was accused of instructing the taxpayer-paid aides how to work on the remapping effort last year, sources familiar with the situation told Politico in a story published Monday. Such activities could violate prohibitions against lawmakers pressuring aides to perform political work and rules against using official resources for campaign purposes, Politico said. Sources told the Washington publication that Richardson's congressional aides collected information about communities beyond her district, organized a workshop for constituents ahead of a public meeting of California's independent redistricting commission and wrote talking points for the constituents to deliver during the public comment portion of the meeting in April. The redistricting work was done at Richardson's direction, not on a volunteer basis, several sources said. Politico said efforts to get comments from the House Ethics Committee or Richardson were unsuccessful.