David Luban / Just Security
A recently released House Oversight Subcommittee report accuses former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney of unethical conduct and concludes that “the FBI must also investigate Rep. Cheney.” Whatever trouble Cheney may be in, it is not the legal ethics violation that the House report focuses on. That accusation is based on a selective quotation of the anti-contact rule, leaving out the very words that prove that it does not apply. The effect is to create a public show that may well serve political purposes, but should be a complete nonstarter under any bona fide legal review.