No Free Pass to Kanye Concert for House

August 26, 2008 — -- It seems like a simple question: do ethics rules bar members of Congress and their staff from attending the free Kanye West concert Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention?

But the answer depends on whom you ask.

To the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, the concert -- part of an event hosted by the U2 singer Bono's ONE Campaign and the Recording Industry Association of America -- is perfectly acceptable.

To the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, the event is too big a gift for members and their staff to attend for free.

These divergent opinions point to the continuing confusion surrounding the new ethics rules on lobbying and gift giving -- ones that were supposed to impose stricter and clear boundaries between Congress and those who seek to influence them.

These distinctions have come to the fore this week during the Democratic convention in Denver where members of both the House and Senate mingle with industry lobbyists, politicos and other attendees at parties, receptions and luncheons.

Yet the ethics interpretations are changing up to the opening hours of the convention, causing last-minute changes and uncertainty among planners, said Kenneth Gross, an election law lawyer with the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. "I think the confusion is putting people in potential jeopardy," he said.

Ethics rules bar staffers and members of Congress from taking gifts from lobbyists or anyone employed by a company that has lobbyists beyond a very limited amount. But there are several exceptions: for charity events, for receptions and for what are deemed "widely attended events."

Senate ethics officials consider the concert a widely attended event because it says it meets the three basic requirements: it includes 25 or more people excluding the members of Congress; the invitees come from a diverse group of companies and associations and the activities are "connected" to the members' official duties because they are being held at the political convention.