Scandal-A-Brewing in the City Council
Council-member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) has probably had better weeks. Monday brought revelations from the Post that he had used a political action committee he controlled to pay himself back for certain expenses, and today the Post reported that he may have been reimbursed twice for an official trip to China and Taiwan last October.
While not as juicy as leaking the name of an undercover CIA agent to the press and not as gossip inspiring as a sex scandal, the accusations against Evans -- which amount to violations of campaign finance laws and fraud -- could well impact his standing in the City Council and his future as a candidate for higher office. Needless to say, Evans may have gotten wrapped up in the type of white-collar crime Washington is best known for -- technical and bureaucratic in nature; if not illegal, very close to it.
This is the skinny on the emerging Evans scandal (Evansgate?). In 1993, Evans, like many other politicians, created a political action committee to support his favored causes and candidates. Eleven years and some $206,264 later, the Post discovered that Evans, who admitted to controlling the committee's finances, may have been writing checks to himself for expenses that, legally speaking, should have been covered by his campaign committee or his constituent services fund. Among these expenses were lunches and various trips -- including the October 2004 trip to Asia with D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and four other members of the council, for which his political action committee reimbursed him $6,772.72. And this where today's revelations find us; for that same trip, Council Chair Linda Cropp claims that Evans received a reimbursement to the tune of $8,535 from the council. In short, Evans illegally used specific funds for certain expenses and, when it came to the Asia trip, committed the equivalent of a financial double-dip.
So how far will this brewing scandal go? Now that Cropp has been involved, even tangentially, things may suddenly get much worse for Evans. Should Cropp choose to quickly distance herself -- as a mayoral candidate, this may be the most intelligent thing to do -- she may ask that Evans relinquish his chairmanship of the Committee on Finance and Revenue. Marc Fisher, the Post's Metro columnist, noted today in his online chat that this step-away may be in the making. And once one person takes that first step away from Evans, others are sure to follow -- Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) and Vincent Orange (D-Ward 5), also running for mayor, are sure bets. Of course, one can only expect that Kathy Patterson (above), who is looking to challenge Evans for the council chair, will use this as a reason why she should be elected to the council's top slot, not Evans. Even if Evans should choose to contest the accusations in court or within the council's chambers, few of his fellow politicians will want to stick around hoping for an acquittal. If it sounds cynical and self-serving, it is -- it's politics. And if he were found to have done nothing wrong, Evans' action are still embarrassing and enough to provoke questions as to his ability to deal with more serious political responsibilities (read council chair).
So far, though, members of the District's political establishment have been quiet. Much the same happened when news emerged that former mayor Marion Barry had failed to pay his income taxes for six years running -- nary a peep of criticism came from the innards of the Wilson Building. A DCist source with a hand in local politics had this to say: "Not a single council-member, nor the Mayor, is willing to speak out and say something's rotten here. That's weak, cowardly and shameful."
The charges and accusations being levied against Evans have only recently taken hold, and the coming days may find a flurry of activity for and against him. How this develops is still a mystery, but as is the case in Washington, once the smell of scandal is in the air, expect someone to pick it up and run with it.