LegiStorm: Transparency's Sidekick

Election Day 2008 will take on a whole new meaning for some former congressional aides.

Tomorrow, a number of former staffers are trying to get back to Capitol Hill with a promotion as a legislator. LegiStorm has the information on how they got their political start.

Perhaps the most notable is Daniel Maffei. Maffei, a former communications aide to Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), narrowly lost to then-incumbent Jim Walsh in 2006. This time around, Walsh has announced his retirement and Maffei is expected to win the seat.

We have made a few changes to the LegiStorm main search feature, which we hope will improve our ability to give you the information you need.

The main search box in the top left corner of our pages has always been a handy quick search for some of our key data. You have always been able to search for a legislator or a congressional staffer's name. Or you could find the sponsor or destination for a congressional trip.

Now, if you're searching for a specific staffer on our site, the search results now show you what office each person has worked in. Previously, you had to click through each name to see where they had worked.

Like many web sites, we try to keep tabs on how people are using our site. We are usually pleased to see mention of us, even if we don't always agree with the way our site's data is used. Accountability can be messy sometimes and that means that dull-witted analyses often appear alongside sharp insights in the public arena.

But this new age of blogging can also lead to some downright irresponsible claims about members of Congress and their staff. And whenever congressional aides are mentioned in news stories, LegiStorm is usually cited as a source, at least for salary and other public record data we have.

This past weekend, a story has been circulating on the web about a member of Congress and a staffer. We won't mention who because the story was so lacking in any indicia of truthfulness that as far as we can tell, it was made up from whole cloth.

Yesterday's indictment of Kevin Ring, a former legislative director to Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and colleague of disgraced superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, is further evidence of the need for accurate financial disclosures by members of Congress and their top aides.

The 10-count indictment alleges that Ring made false statements about receiving a $135,000 kickback himself, as well as showering Doolittle and others with illegal gifts. Prosecutors say that congressional officials were filing false financial disclosures regarding these gifts because doing so would have been admitting to receiving illegal gifts.

The indictment says that Ring provided legislative and executive branch officials with gifts in exchange for official actions. They include all-expenses-paid domestic and international trael, fundraising assistance, meals, drinks, golf, sports tickets and employment opportunities to spouses, including Doolittle's wife.