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28–246 PDF 2006

S. Hrg. 109–617

NOMINATION OF ROBERT I. CUSICK

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON THE

NOMINATION OF ROBERT I. CUSICK, TO BE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF 

GOVERNMENT ETHICS

MAY 18, 2006

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine, Chairman 

TED STEVENS, Alaska 

GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio 

NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota 

TOM COBURN, Oklahoma 

LINCOLN D. CHAFEE, Rhode Island 

ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah 

PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico 

JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia 

JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut 

CARL LEVIN, Michigan 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

MARK DAYTON, Minnesota 

FRANK LAUTENBERG, New Jersey 

MARK PRYOR, Arkansas

MICHAEL D. BOPP, Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

JENNIFER A. HEMINGWAY, Professional Staff Member 

MICHAEL L. ALEXANDER, Minority Staff Director 

ADAM R. SEDGEWICK, Minority Professional Staff Member 

TRINA DRIESSNACK TYRER, Chief Clerk 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Opening statement: Page 

Senator Voinovich ............................................................................................. 1

Prepared statement: 

Senator Lieberman ........................................................................................... 9

WITNESSES 

THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2006

Hon. Mitch McConnell, a U.S. Senator from the State of Kentucky ................... 1

Robert I. Cusick, to be Director, Office of Government Ethics: 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 4

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10

Biographical and professional information ..................................................... 11

Letter from U.S. Office of Government Ethics ............................................... 20

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 21

Response to post-hearing question .................................................................. 40

(1)

NOMINATION OF ROBERT I. CUSICK 

THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2006

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:25 a.m., in room 

SD–342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. George V. Voinovich, 

presiding. 

Present: Senator Voinovich. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR VOINOVICH 

Senator VOINOVICH. The Committee will come to order. 

We are privileged to have Senator McConnell with us this morning to introduce Mr. Cusick. 

I apologize for being late, but we had a vote this morning. We 

are anxious to have this hearing so that Mr. Cusick’s nomination 

can be advanced to the floor so he can get to work. 

Senator McConnell. 

TESTIMONY OF HON. MITCH MCCONNELL, A U.S. SENATOR 

FROM THE STATE OF KENTUCKY 

Senator MCCONNELL. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

I am pleased to be here this morning to introduce to you an old 

friend, going back over 30 years, Robert I. Cusick, who is President 

Bush’s nominee to be the next Director of the Office of Government 

Ethics. 

We call him ‘‘Ric’’ and have been calling him that for, as I indicated, quite awhile. 

His decades of experience in ethics and the law have well prepared him to lead the Executive Branch agency charged with 

strengthening public confidence in our government and government 

employees. The Office of Government Ethics takes care to prevent 

conflicts of interest on the part of government employees, fosters 

high ethical standards for government employees, and resolves conflicts or questions in these standards when they happen. 

I hope that during the confirmation process the Committee will 

conclude what all of us in Kentucky already know, which is that 

Ric is absolutely ideally suited for a job like this. 

He is currently a partner at Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs, one of 

our largest law firms. He is the Partner-in-Charge of Ethics Counseling for a firm of about 200 lawyers. He is also co-chair of the 

firm’s Opinions and Standards Practice Group. He has been with 

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this prestigious firm for over 30 years, the main office of which is 

located in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. 

Area public officials seek Ric out to consult with him on public 

officer ethics, and he is frequently asked to lecture on professional 

responsibility, confidentiality, and conflicts of interest. 

Ric has served as an expert witness on ethics matters in both 

civil and criminal cases, and he has drafted ethics regulations for 

the Kentucky Supreme Court. 

Prior to joining his law firm, Ric served his country as a Navy 

Judge Advocate here in Washington and at sea aboard the USS 

America of the Atlantic Fleet. Ric continued to serve as a Naval Reserve officer until retiring as a decorated Captain in 1998. He has 

taught Federal officer ethics in three States as a Naval Reserve officer. 

He brings his expertise to many volunteer activities in the legal 

community. He currently serves as the chairman of the Ethics Rule 

Drafting Committee for the Kentucky Bar Association and has previously served as a member of that organization’s Ethics Committee. He is a past member of the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association and a past member of the Kentucky Board 

of Bar Examiners. 

He is a member of the Louisville, Kentucky and American Bar 

Associations, a member of the American Judicature Society and the 

ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. 

He has been the chairman of the Louisville Bar Association Committee on Professional Responsibility. He served 8 years as chairman of the Jefferson County Ethics Commission, educating public 

officials on ethics issues. He received special commendation for his 

ethics work when the Kentucky Bar Association awarded him its 

Kentucky Bar Service Award. 

He also received a Certificate of Merit from the Louisville Metro 

Council for his ethics work and received the Distinguished Service 

Award from the Louisville Bar Association. 

In addition to that, Ric’s neighbors have placed their trust in him 

by electing him a councilman for the City of Indian Hills, a small 

jurisdiction within our community. He is also active in his community as a trustee of the Harrods Creek Fire Protection District and 

as a Director of the Louisville-Jefferson County Public Defender 

Corporation. 

A Louisvillian, as I indicated, he received his bachelor’s and law 

degrees from the University of Louisville. 

The President has made the right choice by calling on Ric to 

serve our government as a guidepost on issues of professional responsibility and ethics. His entire career has really prepared him 

for this assignment. This is the perfect person for this job. 

He is a man of wisdom, character, and judgment who can be 

trusted to manage this office fairly and without prejudice. 

So Mr. Chairman, I thank you very much for the opportunity to 

be here to introduce an old friend who, at the risk of being redundant, is the perfect appointment for this job. I mean, typically the 

appointments are hard to match up directly with the positions. But 

I think the President has certainly done that in this case, and I am 

proud to be here with him. 

3

Senator VOINOVICH. I really thank you very much for coming 

here and introducing your friend. 

I must say I am very impressed with the list of things that Mr. 

Cusick has done. As a matter of fact, it added to some of the material that I have read personally about Mr. Cusick. I really thank 

you for being here today. 

Mr. Cusick, first of all, I want to say thank you for allowing 

yourself to be considered for Federal service. 

Mr. CUSICK. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator VOINOVICH. I am well aware of everything you have to 

go through in order to be nominated for a position. I must tell you 

we are trying to streamline that a little bit. 

This Committee continues its work to reform the Federal workforce in order to address the challenge of the 21st Century, and I 

believe that the Office of Government Ethics is going to grow. 

While not widely known, the office does vital work to prevent conflicts of interest on behalf of government employees. The Office of 

Government Ethics has responsibility for reviewing the financial 

disclosure reports for high-level Executive Branch nominees and 

employees in order to ascertain conflicts of interest. 

If that work is as fastidious as what we have to do, you have a 

lot of work ahead of you. 

Mr. CUSICK. Yes, sir. 

Senator VOINOVICH. The Office of Government Ethics issues advisory opinions to guide Federal agencies in response to questions 

about conflict of interest laws and regulations. The work of the Office of Government Ethics is imperative to foster and maintain the 

public’s trust in its government. I think that is something that we 

all have to be worried about. We have to maintain the public’s 

trust in government. 

Mr. Cusick, you have filed responses to a biographical and financial questionnaire. You have answered pre-hearing questions submitted by the Committee. You have had your financial statements 

reviewed by the Office of Government Ethics, and without objection 

this information will be made a part of the hearing record, with the 

exception of the financial data which are on file and are available 

for public inspection in the Committee offices. 

Our Committee rules require that all witnesses at nomination 

hearings give their testimony under oath. Mr. Cusick, would you 

please stand and raise your right hand. 

Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give to this 

Committee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 

so help you, God? 

Mr. CUSICK. I do, Senator. 

Senator VOINOVICH. Let the record show that Mr. Cusick answered in the affirmative. 

I understand that you have members of your family here today? 

Mr. CUSICK. Actually not my family, Senator, but a lot of people 

close to me, like family. 

Senator VOINOVICH. Well, sometimes people that are close to you 

are even better than family. 

Mr. CUSICK. Yes, sir. That has been my experience, as well. 

Senator VOINOVICH. If you would, we would appreciate your introducing your friends here today. 

4

1The prepared statement of Mr. Cusick appears in the Appendix on page 10. 

Mr. CUSICK. Senator, my friend since kindergarten, Charlie 

Ricketts. 

Mr. RICKETTS. Senator. 

Senator VOINOVICH. Mr. Ricketts. 

Mr. CUSICK. Deanna Pelfrey, a friend of well over 20 years. My 

assistant, Beverly Johnson. Danielle Pelfrey, who is a student at 

Georgetown Law School and her husband, Eric Duryea. Obviously 

Danielle is Danielle Pelfrey Duryea. 

I have the members of the staff here from OGE. We have not 

known each other very long, and I am very flattered that they 

came, as well—Joe Gangloff, Jane Ley, Marilyn Glynn, Susan 

Propper, Shelley Finlayson, and Ethan Carrier, whom I met only 

today. 

Senator VOINOVICH. That is wonderful. He has got a good memory for names. That is wonderful. 

Mr. CUSICK. I sometimes wonder about that, Senator. Not every 

day do I have that. 

Senator VOINOVICH. Well, I do not know if you are at that stage, 

but we all have our senior moments. 

There are three questions that we ask all nominees. First, is 

there anything that you are aware of in your background that 

might present a conflict of interest with the duties of the office to 

which you have been nominated? 

Mr. CUSICK. No, sir. 

Senator VOINOVICH. Do you know of anything personal or otherwise that would, in any way, prevent you from fully and honorably 

discharging the responsibilities of the office to which you have been 

nominated? 

Mr. CUSICK. I know of no such thing, Senator. 

Senator VOINOVICH. And last, do you agree without reservation 

to respond to any reasonable summons to appear and testify before 

any duly constituted committee of congress, if you are confirmed? 

Mr. CUSICK. I do. 

Senator VOINOVICH. Thank you. 

I would like to hear from you. Do you have a statement? 

TESTIMONY OF ROBERT I. CUSICK,1 TO BE DIRECTOR, OFFICE 

OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

Mr. CUSICK. Senator, I am, it is hardly necessary to say, very 

honored that the President nominated me to the position of Director of the Office of Government Ethics. And I am also honored to 

be here today for the Committee’s hearing on my nomination. 

I think everybody in this room agrees that public office is a public trust. We have to go further than that though, I believe. Careful 

rulemaking, education and leadership of an ethical focus is essential to that public trust being observed. The Office of Government 

Ethics has been given the central leadership role in that task by 

Congress for the Executive Branch. And frankly, it would please 

me greatly to be trusted with the responsibility for that agency. 

My experience as a Kentucky lawyer for over 38 years and as a 

retired Naval Reserve Judge Advocate, I believe, has prepared me 

for the challenge of leading the Agency. I have trained Navy units. 

5

I have trained local officials in public officer ethics. I have been 

very active and involved in the Kentucky Bar Association in ethics 

matters and discipline matters. I have served as the ethics partner 

of Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs for many years, and that is a large 

firm of over 200 lawyers in three States. 

I believe that it is essential to the ethical culture in a large organization to implement a system that trains, advises, and audits 

ethical compliance. I believe in systems like that. Unethical acts, 

I believe, are not always the result of venality. Although reading 

some newspapers might lead you to that conclusion. They can also 

grow in a culture of banality, in which people simply want to look 

successful or to conceal failure or to enhance personal relationships 

or to frustrate oversight. I believe the ugly examples of corporate 

unethical acts in the business pages of the newspapers should not 

be permitted in government. 

In the most fundamental sense, I think, government ethics can 

be characterized as ensuring that government decisions are informed by the public interest and not by private interest. There 

will always be debate in our democracy about alternative views of 

what the public interest is, sometimes acrimonious debate. But 

such views can be distinguished from private interest. And it is my 

belief that distinction is a large part of the job of the Office of Government Ethics. 

Last week FBI Director Robert Mueller was quoted in the newspaper as saying that public corruption ‘‘tears at the fabric of democracy.’’ I believe Director Mueller said that very well. 

If confirmed, I will exert every effort within the jurisdiction of 

the Office of Government Ethics to see that official decisions are informed by the public interest. Thank you Senator. 

Senator VOINOVICH. Thank you for that very thoughtful statement. 

Have you had a chance yet to look at how many people you will 

have working with you? 

Mr. CUSICK. Approximately 80 people, Senator. 

Senator VOINOVICH. How long do you think it is going to take for 

you to determine whether or not that is enough to get the job done? 

Mr. CUSICK. I think probably not too long, as the job stands right 

now. I believe if the responsibilities of the Agency were increased 

that both personnel and budget changes might have to be made. I 

think at the present time the balance between personnel and the 

task is a relatively good one, but it might not remain so if legislation adds to those responsibilities. 

Senator VOINOVICH. One of the problems in government is in too 

many cases Congress asks agencies to do things that are important 

to the government but do not give them the resources to get the 

job done. I have always had a philosophy that if you ask somebody 

to do the job and you do not give them the resources to get it done, 

then you are basically saying that the job is not that important. 

Mr. CUSICK. I favor that philosophy, Senator. 

Senator VOINOVICH. All I would say to you is that, once confirmed to this position and you see what is going on, if you need 

some additional resources, you ask for them. 

I think that the scandals in the corporate world has been very 

hurtful and contributed to what we saw happen to the stock marVerDate 0ct 09 2002 13:26 Oct 17, 2006 Jkt 028246 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\DOCS\28246.TXT SAFFAIRS PsN: PAT
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ket. It seems that we are starting to get some faith back into those 

financial markets. 

We must do everything that we can to uphold the public trust, 

and even to go beyond that. We should try and guard against not 

only doing things that are wrong but also to guard against doing 

things that appear to be wrong. 

I am glad that you have had the experience that you have had 

in education and training. 

I would be interested in how important you think it is? Have you 

thought about that in context of this new job that you are taking? 

Mr. CUSICK. Senator, I think that education is really essential in 

this field. Unfortunately, the subject of ethics tends to be watered 

down by many people that think well, my intentions are good, I do 

not have to worry about that. I think it is far more complicated 

than that. And I think that education in ethics principles and rules 

is important in a number of ways. 

One of the things it does is raise the level of public discourse 

about public official ethics. 

I saw that happen in my homecounty of Jefferson County, where 

Louisville is located, when the first ethics ordinance was enacted. 

All officials above a certain level had to attend mandatory training 

every year. And we would have four sessions to make it accessible 

to people that worked night shifts and so forth. 

I found that after those sessions I would get a lot of calls for the 

next several weeks from people who were thinking about issues 

that they had not actively analyzed before, saying would this be all 

right? Is this something I should recuse myself on? Can I approve 

my subordinate’s action in this respect? 

I really found that very satisfying to see that education in the 

rules and principles was having effect, was taking effect. 

So yes, I think it is very important. I think it is also important 

for subordinates in government to see their senior leaders in that 

educational atmosphere. In other words, to understand that their 

senior leaders are being trained in that atmosphere that they will 

expect compliance with that kind of thinking. 

I think that ethical leadership from the top down is essential to 

the ethical survival of an organization. If the message is sent, as 

clearly it has been sent in some private corporations we read about 

in the newspaper, that it is a secondary or a tertiary consideration 

and that the bottom line is everything, then people begin to think 

that way. 

And that introduces cynicism into a company, it introduces cynicism into government agencies, and frankly it introduces cynicism 

into the public. And I do not think that is good for any of us. 

Senator VOINOVICH. I agree with you, and I think that one of the 

best things that happened in Ohio with our continuing legal education was requiring that every 2 years lawyers had so many hours 

of ethics training. 

I have one request of you. That is that after you have had a 

chance to get your feet on the ground, I would be interested in 

hearing from you your assessment of the ethics education system 

and any thoughts that you have on how it might be improved. 

We have a big problem in the Congress. If we pass lobbying reform, there will be mandatory ethics training for Senators every 

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year. What I have found is that some of my colleagues have gotten 

in trouble because they have not paid attention or been reminded 

of the rules. In other words, it has not been held prominent in their 

minds, and as a result of it, they have done some things and many 

times just inadvertent. 

Mr. CUSICK. That has been my experience. 

Senator VOINOVICH. So, I would appreciate if you shared with me 

your assessment of OGE’s training program. I do not have any further questions. I am honored that you are willing to take this job 

on, and I wish you all the best. We will try to get you confirmed 

as soon as possible. 

Mr. CUSICK. Thank you, Senator. 

Senator VOINOVICH. I am going to leave the record open today 

until 5 p.m. in case any of my colleagues want to submit questions 

to you for the record. 

Mr. CUSICK. Thank you, sir. 

Senator VOINOVICH. The hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:45 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

(9)

A P P E N D I X 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR LIEBERMAN 

Thank you, Madam Chairman. And welcome, Mr. Cusick, to you and your family. 

The Office of Government Ethics is a key player in maintaining the highest ethical 

standards throughout the Executive Branch. The director’s job has been vacant 

since December 2003, and I am troubled the Administration waited a year and a 

half into the 109th Congress before nominating you to lead the office. I am pleased 

your nomination has been made and I hope it proceeds smoothly so the message 

going forward will be that ethics are at the core of everything we in public service 

do. 

The OGE is responsible for establishing and maintaining a uniform legal framework of ethics for Executive Branch employees, supporting the ethics programs of 

each Federal agency through educational programs, advisory opinions, and review 

of agency ethics procedures, and overseeing the financial disclosure of Executive 

Branch employees. Only through the transparency of financial disclosure can we 

prevent conflicts of interest that undermine the impartiality of government decisionmakers. 

As Mr. Cusick noted in written responses to the Committee’s questionnaire, ‘‘government ethics’’ should not be an oxymoron. Unfortunately, the headlines of the 

past year have given the American public more than a few reasons to question 

whether some Federal officials take their ethical obligation seriously. 

David Safavian, the President’s former top procurement officer, was indicted for 

lying about his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Tony Rudy, a former aide to 

Congressman DeLay, pleaded guilty to conspiracy related to corrupt lobbying practices and admitted violating the prohibition of former Congressional staff from lobbying their previous bosses for one year. Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud and 

conspiracy to bribe public officials, and his associate Michael Scanlon pleaded guilty 

to conspiracy to bribe a congressman and other public officials. Congressman Duke 

Cunningham pleaded guilty to accepting bribes. A former aide to Congressman Ney 

pleaded guilty to conspiring to influence the Congressman’s actions through expensive gifts and travel. And a former aide to Congressman Jefferson pleaded guilty 

to bribing his former boss. 

In no way do I mean to lay any of these ethical lapses at the feet of OGE. But 

in the context of today’s hearing, these incidents remind us how a handful of selfish, 

corrupt individuals can inflict widespread damage on the public’s confidence in the 

integrity of our government. We need strong leadership from OGE to make sure 

that Executive Branch personnel fully understand and fulfill their ethical responsibilities. 

Public service is a privilege, and those who choose to pursue it must perform their 

duties in the public interest, not in their own self-interest. I look forward to hearing 

from Mr. Cusick today with his vision for making that maxim a reality.

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