Latest news with #CodeofEthics
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
House Oversight Chair Comer subpoenas Biden doctor
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena on Thursday for testimony from former President Biden's White House doctor, Kevin O'Connor. It's Comer's latest move to expand his panel's probes into Biden's mental acuity. 'Among other subjects, the Committee expressed its interest in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden's physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as President,' Comer said in a letter accompanying the subpoena. 'Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee sought to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden's fitness to serve from the American people.' The subpoena dictates that O'Connor appear for testimony at a deposition on June 27, and comes after O'Connor had declined Comer's request to voluntarily appear before the committee. O'Connor's attorneys previously told the committee that the denial to appear was due in part to a D.C. code concerning physicians disclosing patient information to a court without consent, 'ethical obligations pursuant to 'Principal No. IV of the Code of Ethics of the American Medical Association (AMA),'' and 'physician-patient privilege,' according to the letter from Comer. 'These arguments lack merit,' Comer wrote. 'Congress is not a court; this Section therefore in no way precludes you from appearing and testifying regarding your role as Physician to former President Biden,' the letter said. O'Connor's attorney David Schertler told The Hill in a statement: 'We just received the correspondence and subpoena from the House Oversight Committee this afternoon. We will review it carefully and respond to Chairman Comer after we have had a chance to do so.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
15 hours ago
- Health
- The Hill
House Oversight Chair Comer subpoenas Biden doctor
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena on Thursday for testimony from former President Biden's White House doctor, Kevin O'Connor. It's Comer's latest move to expand his panel's probes into Biden's mental acuity. 'Among other subjects, the Committee expressed its interest in whether your financial relationship with the Biden family affected your assessment of former President Biden's physical and mental fitness to fulfill his duties as President,' Comer said in a letter accompanying the subpoena. 'Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee sought to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden's fitness to serve from the American people.' The subpoena dictates that O'Connor appear for testimony at a deposition on June 27, and comes after O'Conner had declined Comer's request to voluntarily appear before the committee. O'Connor's attorneys had previously told the committee that the denial to appear was due in part to a D.C. code concerning physicians disclosing patient information to a court without consent, 'ethical obligations pursuant to 'Principal No. IV of the Code of Ethics of the American Medical Association (AMA),'' and 'physician-patient privilege,' according to the letter from Comer. 'These arguments lack merit,' Comer wrote. 'Congress is not a court; this Section therefore in no way precludes you from appearing and testifying regarding your role as Physician to former President Biden,' the letter said. O'Conner's attorney David Schertler told The Hill in a statement: 'We just received the correspondence and subpoena from the House Oversight Committee this afternoon. We will review it carefully and respond to Chairman Comer after we have had a chance to do so.'
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senate President Valarie Lawson seeks opinion on ethical conflicts with teachers union job
Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson is pictured in the Senate chamber ahead of the May 13, 2025, floor session. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) Rhode Island Senate President Valarie Lawson quietly recused herself from two labor bills decided Wednesday. The reason: She's awaiting the advice of a state ethics panel on conflicts of interest with her job as head of one of the state's two largest teachers unions. Despite Lawson's abstention, two union-backed bills secured approval with decisive majorities of the 37-member chamber. One would extend organizing rights to university graduate students; the other enhances information-sharing about union members between their employers and local bargaining units. As the end of session looms, with hundreds of bills expected to be considered by both chambers in the final weeks, it's still unclear when and whether Lawson should be participating in discussions and decisions that overlap with her day job as president of the National Education Association of Rhode Island. Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, was elected Senate president on April 29, filling the opening left after the death of former Senate President Dominick Ruggerio. She requested an advisory opinion from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission on May 23, according to a letter obtained by Rhode Island Current. The commission, which last met on May 20, has not set a date to consider a recommendation from its staff on Lawson's request. Lawson in the letter referred to a June 2024 ethics recommendation, when she was majority leader, determining that she could still vote on a swath of proposed changes to the state pension system despite being a retired teacher and head of the teachers union. The ethics panel concluded that Lawson would not benefit from the proposed changes any more than the 68,000 retirees and active state workers and teachers, including 400 of her co-workers at the state teachers' union. Lawson sought to distinguish between actual conflicts of interest, rooted in financial gain, and a 'subjective perception of bias' — the latter of which is not addressed by the state ethics code. 'The Code of Ethics does not address perceived general biases, political views or personal opinions unless they intersect with financial interests,' Lawson wrote. 'This is intentional as the Code of Ethics may not infringe upon either legislative or executive powers.' Lawson also pledged in the letter to recuse herself from any discussions and votes on bills related to pension benefits that would affect her 'rights or entitlements as a participant in the state's Pension system.' Her letter does not mention potential conflicts on labor bills, including the two she abstained from Wednesday. Greg Paré, a Senate spokesperson, downplayed Lawson's recusals. 'In any part-time legislature, most members will have full-time jobs as well, and it is inevitable that potential conflicts will arise,' Pare said in an emailed response Thursday. 'The members of the Senate recuse themselves in these situations. Throughout her tenure in the Senate, President Lawson has recused out of an abundance of caution when a potential conflict arises, and she did so yesterday as well.' The precautionary measure did not put Sen. Ana Quezada at ease. Quezada, a Providence Democrat, did not vote for Lawson for Senate president because she worried over the conflicts of interest with her union job. 'For me, it is still a concern,' Quezada said in an interview Thursday. 'Even if she recuses herself from voting on the floor, what happens behind closed doors?' Indeed, it was behind-the-scenes negotiations, not public votes, that prompted the first Senate president, East Providence Democrat, Billy Irons, to resign. Irons abruptly left the leadership post at the end of his first year, in 2003, amid news reports he accepted payouts from insurance companies in exchange for defeating legislation the industry opposed. 'Recusing from a vote is only part of the actions as Senate president,' John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island, said. 'Lawson is also the person who decides if a committee can move forward with a vote on the legislation.' Exercising caution might sound like the best choice amid uncertainty. But her constituents, and the 12,000 teachers she leads, could lose out if she recuses herself unnecessarily, too. This was the conclusion of a pair of Brown University professors in a paper in the 2024 Roger Williams University Law Review in examining non-judicial recusals from 2006 to 2018. 'Recusing might make political sense,' the authors stated. 'Stepping aside makes it impossible for political opponents to claim that voting was improper. But this is where the phrase 'out of an abundance of caution' falls apart. That phrase implies that there are no costs to recusing, just possible benefits. But there are real costs—direct and indirect—to this kind of 'abundance of caution.' The direct cost of legislative recusal is the disenfranchisement of constituents.' Without an ethics opinion on the bills up for a vote Wednesday, it's unclear whether Lawson could have participated in the decisions. Recusing from a vote is only part of the actions as Senate president. Lawson is also the person who decides if a committee can move forward with a vote on the legislation. – John Marion, executive director for Common Cause Rhode Island Marion acknowledged the timing of the state ethics reviews and meetings – typically once per month — made it difficult for Lawson to get timely advice in the end-of-session scramble. But the proposals themselves were introduced on Jan. 31, giving Lawson ample time to ask for more general input from the ethics panel. Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone requested an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission on his ability to discuss and vote on gun-related legislation immediately after he was elected the Senate's no. 2. The commission approved its staff recommendation at its May 20 meeting. Lawson waited more than three weeks after she was tapped as president to ask for an ethics opinion. 'It's surprising given the scrutiny on her dual roles that she isn't doing more publicly to make sure that she's getting sound advice on what she can and can't do in her role as Senate president,' Marion said. 'The next few weeks are going to highlight that challenge.' Companion legislation in the House to Ciccone's bill expanding organizing rights to college graduate students remains held in committee following an initial Feb. 12 hearing. The House Committee on Labor is scheduled to vote Thursday night on a companion to the other union bill, requiring regular updates from union employers to the local bargaining units. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi remained noncommittal when asked for comment Thursday, only saying that both bills were 'under consideration.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Health Select Committee Report Fails To Address Real Issues In Funeral Debt
The Funeral Directors Association says calls from advocacy group, Death without Debt, to simplify cremation paperwork is distracting Government from the real issues around funeral debt. The Health Select Committee has now released a report on cremation costs and associated matters, finding the current process and regulations create a barrier for people who want to organise their own funerals. However Chief Executive, Gillian Boyes, notes the Select Committee recognised it is already possible for people to complete the paperwork directly, recommending the Te Hokinga ā Wairua | End of Life Service website includes links on its website. 'We're incredibly frustrated this advocacy group has suggested making paperwork easier to find will somehow fix funeral debt,' says Ms Boyes. 'Completing paperwork is a fraction of the cost of funeral services. What does cost is what people want and need, which is the support in caring for them and their loved one when they're at a moment in life where they often can't think straight and where paperwork is the least of their concerns. That is the service funeral directors provide.' Ms Boyes says the industry's own submission to the Health Select Committee recommended the Government should instead focus on: Price transparency in law for all funeral directors. Currently only Funeral Directors Association members are obligated by their Standards and Code of Ethics to be transparent. An increase in the asset testing limit for pre-paid funerals from $10,000 to $15,000. This would ensure those with the means to pre-plan are setting aside a more realistic amount which avoids future debt. An increase in the Work and Income Funeral Grant. This would better protect those with no money for the essential services funeral directors provide. 'Government has to be realistic that when services are provided privately, there is cost involved. 'We think putting in place better consumer protection, with a backstop of genuine Government support for the most vulnerable is going to have far more impact on funeral debt than simplifying paperwork.'
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
‘Jim Crow Jewish supremacists': Union leader faces complaint over anti-Israel posts
Article content 'Oh and people don't find your racial supremacy cute or inspiring, you Jim Crow hacks,' he responds to one user a minute later. Article content Prier argues against the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The non-legally binding definition deems comparing Jews or Israel to the Nazis and classic tropes of Jewish control of finance as antisemitic. Article content 'Gaza is like the Warsaw Ghetto (there I've violated IHRA),' he writes, taking aim at the definition adopted by dozens of countries, the federal government and several provinces. Article content Asked for comment, Prier wrote a short statement to the Post acknowledging the now-deleted account was operated by him. Article content 'What's happening in Israel and Palestine is a deeply emotional issue for many people, including me,' Prier wrote, adding he's 'always been clear that I believe in justice for Palestinians and fighting antisemitism. I support a peaceful resolution to the war in Gaza.' Article content Article content Article content Laura Gauthier, the senior communications adviser of CAPE, said the union would not comment on internal matters involving members or staff. Article content 'All complaints are handled in accordance with applicable laws and internal policies, which are designed to ensure confidentiality and fairness,' she said in a note to the Post. Article content Luffman's complaint argues that Prier's conduct violated CAPE's Code of Ethics for Elected or Appointed Officers, specifically bylaws pertaining to harassment and slander. She is calling for Prier's resignation, because his 'statements exemplify a distorted and racist view of Jews and the national movement with which the vast majority of them in Canada identify.' Article content Article content She denounced Prier's language as 'horribly vile,' writing he 'denies legitimacy to the Jewish people, uses derogatory language to depict Jews as supremacists, echoes tropes of Jewish control or dominance, makes comparisons of Jews confined in the Warsaw Ghetto to Israeli policy, and crosses the line from critique to vilification.' Article content The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) echoed Luffman's call, telling the Post the organization lacked confidence in Prier's leadership to represent CAPE's diverse constituency fairly. Article content 'The use of antisemitic tropes and hostile language by Nathan Prier raises serious questions about fitness to represent a diverse union membership and alignment with the Public Service Code of Values and Ethics,' CIJA general counsel Richard Marceau wrote the Post. Article content 'The fact that he is using a hidden identity speaks to (a) lack of transparency at a minimum, but also to a completely unacceptable level of dishonesty for someone in such an important position. In brief, if accountability has any meaning, Nathan Prier should resign from his position.' Article content Luffman remains hopeful her complaint will trigger an external investigation, but sees Prier's behaviour as part of a troubling pattern within CAPE, the country's third-largest federal public service union representing over 20,000 members. In November 2023, Prier's predecessor, Camille Awada, resigned after anti-Israel social media posts he allegedly made years earlier began circulating among union members. Article content Article content 'The European Zionists are the true Aryan race. They look down at the world as if we are cattle. Israel is the illegitimate Zionist terrorist apartheid state that is the root of all evil!' Awada reportedly wrote on Facebook in January 2019. A few days earlier, he reportedly referred to Israel as that 'illegitimate Zionist lunatic terrorist apartheid state.' Article content Luffman received confirmation that her complaint was registered on Wednesday, but said in a brief written comment she did not wish to weigh in on the story as the investigation unfolds. Article content 'I have faith in the process and look forward to receiving the report from the third-party investigator,' she maintained.
