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Feeney accused of ethics misstep

ORLANDO - A congressional watchdog group has demanded that the House ethics panel investigate U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney for taking two trips abroad that it says violated ethics rules.

The Congressional Accountability Project said Wednesday that Feeney, R-Oviedo, and other lawmakers went on trips to Scotland and South Korea that were paid for by lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council, which is registered as a foreign agent.

House rules prohibit lawmakers from taking trips paid for by lobbyists and foreign agents. "Obviously it raises serious questions ... about his judgment," said Gary Ruskin, head of the Congressional Accountability Project. The Scotland junket was listed on Feeney's official travel disclosure form as being paid for by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank.

But Feeney said recently he learned that the $5,643 bill actually was paid by Abramoff, the subject of multiple government investigations. Abramoff is suspected of bilking Indian tribes he represented.

"It's an embarrassment and we were misled" about who was paying for the trip, Feeney said. "We were lied to."

Calls to Feeney's office Thursday were not returned.

House rules also require that members file a disclosure form within 30 days when they travel on the tab of private groups. Feeney filed the Scotland form more than three months late.

No record of the South Korea trip was on file Wednesday. Feeney's aides said they were trying to determine whether the form was filed.

[Last modified March 11, 2005, 01:22:10]