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In early January 2017, a number of news outlets and web sites posted stories reporting that Republican members of Congress had passed a set of new rules, one of which shields lawmakers from investigations and corruption probes. The new House rules were approved on 3 January 2017 along party lines, with only three Republicans joining Democrats in voting nay. The rule in question states that: As the government transparency web site OpenSecrets.org pointed out, the new rule classifies congressional records as personal property and thereby has the potential to make investigations more difficult for prosecutors: Although multiple web sites (including the alarmist liberal blog US Uncut) reported that the new rule shields members of Congress from prosecution, Michael Stern, former senior counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, explained that rendering documents generated by public office as personal property of legislators means it will be more difficult, but not impossible, for investigators and prosecutors to obtain them: Stern said that although the rule is new, it merely codifies a position taken by House members for years, and has not been controversial among them. But it is nonetheless troubling, said Meredith McGehee, strategic adviser for Campaign Legal Center, a government accountability organization: As an example, McGehee pointed to the case of Aaron Schock, a former Illinois representative who was indicted on two dozen counts related to accusations he improperly lived an extravagant lifestyle on the taxpayers' dime: Prosecutors in the Schock case had to argue this very issue, that Schock's spending records were the property of his public office and not private possessions: McGehee noted that public office holders claim that because of the political nature of their positions, the new rule is necessary to prevent their opponents from going on unwarranted fishing expeditions and seeking to ensnare or embarrass them by accessing and sifting through troves of public records. But, she added, to me that's part of the territory. You're in politics.
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