Charlie Dent. Republican. US House Representative. He hasn’t generated much publicity in a career spanning almost 13½ years… until yesterday. So what has brought him to our attention now? Let’s sift through what we know and see if it brings us closer to answering the question: is there something you’re not telling us, Charlie?
Charlie Dent was originally elected to represent PA-15 in 2004, began serving in 2005, and was appointed Chairman of the House Ethics Committee in 2015, a position he’ll continue to hold until Ryan replaces him.
On September 7, 2017, he announced he would be retiring at the end of this term, his seventh in the US House. He was not the only future retiree from the state of Pennsylvania. There were four others who, at different times, also declared their intention to retire at the end of 2018: Bob Brady (D), Pat Meehan, Ryan Costello, and Bill Shuster.
The Pennsylvanian congressional map underwent a court-ordered redistricting this year, much to the horror of republican reps. It likely affected the decision of only one retiring republican, Ryan Costello, though it was probably considered a possible reason for Dent’s retirement announcement. That is until yesterday when he suddenly announced his intention to leave next month instead of seeing the year out.
As the Washington Post noted:
He said in a statement released Tuesday morning that he will leave “in the coming weeks.” He did not offer a reason for his decision to depart now rather than finish his term.
That lack of a reason is what has piqued curiosity — Dent’s will be the seventh resignation this term but the circumstances of his leaving seem much out of character with the majority of resignations in the 115th Congress to date.
Five of those six resignations were either known to be, or likely to have been, under an ethics investigation: Jason Chaffetz (complaint filed against him with the Office of Congressional Ethics), Tim Murphy (resigned before House Ethics Committee [HEC] began their investigation), Trent Franks (HEC created a special subcommittee to investigate him), John Conyers, the only Democrat in the group (HEC investigation) and Blake Farenthold (HEC investigation).
So over 83% of resignations to date were by members known to have engaged in unethical behavior. But Charlie Dent, like Pat Tiberi, does not appear to belong to this group.
The only whiff of shadow over Dent came less than 8 months into his first year as chairman of the House Ethics Committee. It concerned an ethics probe, referred to the House Committee by the Office of Congressional Ethics, involving 10 members of Congress who traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan in May 2013 with oil industry money. From Open Secrets August 4, 2015:
But even as the Ethics Committee investigated the matter, its chairman, Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), received political contributions from local individuals linked to the nonprofit network involved in the trips. The donations amounted to $8,000 and were given on a single day.
The probe was dropped by the House committee and no more was heard about the donations to Dent. That’s a fair indication that there wasn’t anything to it because the membership of the Ethics Committee is the only one in the US House that comprises equal representation of both parties. Though not foolproof, it is the most effective way to neutralize partisan bias and any autocratic leanings on behalf of dictatorial chairmen. Charlie Dent, incidentally, has never been known to exhibit any such tendencies; quite the opposite.
Moving forward to this year and this month and this past week...
Three days ago, Dent tweeted:
This does not sound like someone who was considering resigning shortly thereafter.
Going back a little further to Friday last:
What Charlie Dent has demonstrated is that he’s genuinely pro-bipartisanship. He’s among the first of House republicans to join the effort to protect the special counsel’s position. Politico reports:
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) introduced a version of the bill on Friday with Vermont Democrat Peter Welch. On Monday, Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick signed on as a cosponsor. On Tuesday morning, Rep. Ryan Costello — a third Pennsylvania Republican — endorsed the measure, according to an aide. Later in the day, Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) endorsed the measure. [Rep. Walter] Jones [R-NC] signed on to an identical version of the bill that Democrats introduced last week.
He must have felt buoyed by the gathering momentum — until that same Tuesday… The Washington Post reported:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday thwarted a bipartisan effort to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s job, saying he will not hold a floor vote on the legislation even if it is approved next week in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Shortly after McConnell’s statement, Charlie Dent abruptly announced his resignation.
The coincidence is pregnant with probable cause. Did McConnell’s stated position amplify a growing exasperation and disgust with his party to such an extent that it triggered Dent’s resignation? Certainly it seemed that he plunged from an optimistic high very suddenly to “that’s it; I’m done.” McConnell is infamous for his dogmatic despotism (viz. his intransigent insistence that Justice Scalia not be replaced until a republican moved into the White House). A maelstrom of anger, defeat and shame engendered by his own party would also account for Dent’s unwillingness to reveal his reason.
Is there something you’re not telling us, Charlie?
Yes, I believe there is. And I hope Charlie Dent feels able to reveal that reason when he is safely home, away from the machinations of a party gone mad.