How bad are the ethics problems on Capitol Hill? So bad that the Democratic leadership is trying to pass the buck on the promise they made to “drain the swamp”:

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Tuesday noted that it was Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), not him, who promised to “drain the swamp” of corruption in Washington. Pelosi famously vowed in 2006 to “drain the swamp” that ensnared Republican members and their leaders during the George W. Bush administration. During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Hoyer clarified that he has never used that phrase. “I didn’t use that term,” Hoyer said when asked if he thinks Democrats have “drained the swamp.”  “What I believed and continue to believe is that we have made the ethics process work, and we have made it work in a meaningful way.”

Yes, the ethics process is working, which is why the House ethics committee is furiously trying to reach a quiet settlement with Charlie Rangel for fear that a trial would hurt the Democrats in November. Please. Oh and I take it Hoyer would also deny Pelosi’s statement that Democrats are running the “most ethical congress ever”?