GOVT2305: Federal Government

Ethics and Government Officials

Tom Hanna
tom.hanna@hccs.edu

Houston Community College

2025-10-15

The Core Problem: Public Trust

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Public Officials as Trustees

  • A government official’s job is a public trust.
  • This means they are fiduciaries of the people, similar to a financial advisor or lawyer.
  • The fundamental ethical requirement is the Duty of Loyalty: Officials must act for the Common Good, setting aside all Selfish Interest.

The Ethical Test (Aristotle)

  • True Form: Government serves the Common Good.
  • Despotic Form: Government serves the Selfish Interest of the rulers.
  • Every ethical failure moves the government toward the Despotic Form. This is why ethics matters to democracy.

Ethics in Congress: The Money Problem

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Authority and Transparency

  • Self-Policing: The U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 5) allows each House to set its own rules, punish, and expel its members. Congress polices itself.
  • Transparency: The Ethics in Government Act (EIGA) of 1978 requires officials to make yearly financial disclosures to reveal potential conflicts of interest.

The Challenge of Conflicts

  • The key concern is often the appearance of impropriety—when an action is legal, but looks wrong because money is involved.
  • Example (A “Non-Case”): A former Representative stated his office’s policy was: “If you’re a lobbyist who never gave us money, I didn’t talk to you. If you’re a lobbyist who gave us money, I might talk to you.”
  • This behavior may not violate a specific rule, but it erodes public trust by prioritizing donor access over the public good.

Accountability: The OCE vs. The Committees

  • Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE): An independent, non-partisan office that investigates complaints. It has no power to punish.
  • House/Senate Ethics Committees: Composed of sitting members who hold the power of sanction (censure, fine, reprimand).
  • The Problem: The Ethics Committees often summarily dismiss charges referred by the OCE, illustrating the difficulty of self-policing in a partisan environment.

Ethics in the Executive Branch

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The Presidential Accountability Gap

  • The primary federal conflict of interest statute (18 U.S.C. § 208) specifically exempts the President and Vice-President.

  • Reason: This exemption exists to prevent the Judicial Branch from interfering with the President’s constitutional duties.

  • Criminal Prosecution: Trump v. United States (2024) held that a former President enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken while in office.

  • The Problem: This creates a significant accountability gap for Presidential corruption with only one cure: impeachment.

The Constitutional Check: Impeachment

  • The only check on Presidential corruption is Impeachment (charges by the House) and Conviction (removal by two-thirds of the Senate).
  • The grounds are “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors”—crimes of corruption that threaten the system of government itself.

Agencies and Staff: Divided Interests

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Ethics for Agencies and Staff

  • The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) oversees the ethics programs for over 140 executive agencies.
  • Hatch Act: Prevents most federal employees from using their official positions for political activity.
  • Key Principle: Employees must avoid the appearance of impropriety.
  • Case Example (Agency Staff): A former Counselor to the President was found to have repeatedly violated the Hatch Act by using her official position to engage in partisan political commentary.

Ethics in the Judicial Branch

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The Ideal: Impartiality

  • The Judicial Branch’s power rests entirely on the public’s trust in its unbiased judgment.
  • Judges and Justices must maintain the highest standards of integrity and independence.

Mandatory Recusal

  • Federal law (28 U.S.C. § 455) requires a judge to recuse (disqualify) themselves from any case where their impartiality could be questioned, especially if they have a financial interest or prior personal involvement.
  • Recusal is the most frequent ethical control mechanism used by the courts.

The Supreme Court’s Accountability Gap

  • Code of Conduct: The Supreme Court adopted its first formal Code of Conduct only in late 2023.
  • Self-Enforcement: Justices are responsible for interpreting and enforcing the code themselves.
  • The Problem: Short of impeachment or prosecution for outright bribery, there is no external body to investigate or sanction a sitting Supreme Court Justice. This lack of external review creates a significant accountability gap at the highest level of the judiciary.

Conclusion

Summary of Checks

Branch Ethical Challenge Focused on Public Trust Accountability Method
Legislative Conflicts of Interest (Money for Access) Self-Policing (Ethics Committees)
Executive Presidential Exemption / Political Activity Impeachment
Judicial Impartiality / Lack of External Review Recusal (Self-Regulation)

Final Message

Ethical rules and laws are designed to force officials to uphold their Duty of Loyalty to the public. When these systems fail—whether by self-policing, political polarization, or a lack of external oversight—the democratic ideal of the Common Good is replaced by Selfish Interest. This is why the ethics of government officials is a concern for every citizen.

Authorship and License

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