Stan Quoted in The Hill re: Filner Probe and New Ethics Regs

Stan Brand, who is defending Craig in the Senate ethics investigation, said the House and Senate are opening a “Pandora’s box” with their ethics inquiries of Craig and Filner. Making matters worse is the fact that any individual now can submit a complaint to a court and have a good chance of sparking an ethics probe, he added.

“[Democrats and Republicans] are playing this issue out in the hinterlands about who is more ethical, and it’s going to backfire on them,” he said. “In many ways it already has. Pretty soon it’s going to be [the case that] spitting on the sidewalk is … an offense that the ethics committee has to investigate.”

Brand also said the ethics committee was now crossing the line into members’ private conduct, in contrast to its historical practice of investigating only criminal conduct related to official business — an argument he also made in a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee on behalf of Craig two weeks ago.

“This has risks and consequences on both sides of the aisle. Every petty offense, every misdemeanor, every trivial disturbance of the peace is going to be subject to some determination under House and Senate rules,” he said. “That’s legally ridiculous, inefficient and wrong.”

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Stan Quoted in LA Times re: Clinton's Reaction to Hsu Contributions

Stanley Brand, a former House counsel who often represents legislators in ethics matters, called the Clinton campaign's decision "a ground-shifting event," though not a step he would have recommended.

"I understand it's politically driven. They don't want to be tainted," he said. "But they're going to give back a lot of money if they do this every time there's an allegation against a fundraiser."

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The NY Times on BLG's Representation of Sen. Craig

Mr. Craig’s lawyers in Washington, Stanley M. Brand and Andrew D. Herman of the Brand Group, wrote to the Ethics Committee saying there was no precedent for it to investigate “purely personal conduct unrelated to the performance of official Senate duties.”

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Roll Call on BLG's Hiring by Senator Craig

Craig Hires a Crisis Team; Otter Still Quiet

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Over the weekend, Craig put in place a high-powered crisis management team, including D.C. attorney Billy Martin, communications expert Judy Smith of Impact Strategies and attorney Stan Brand, who will handle any Senate Ethics Committee investigation. Craig also hired Minneapolis attorney Tom Kelly.

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“What you’re seeing is an attempt to lift the cloud he’s been operating under,” Brand told Roll Call on Monday. “The politics kind of overtook the law.”

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) on Sunday became the first Senator to come to Craig’s defense. “I’d still like to see Sen. Craig fight this case,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I’d like to see Larry Craig go back to court, seek to withdraw his guilty plea and fight the case.”

Craig appears to be taking that advice to heart, but Brand said he expects the embattled Senator to leave the Senate on Sept. 30. “I take him at his word,” he said.

Brand added, “He hired me and Billy Martin to see if he can leave with his honor intact.”

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Brand Law Group to Represent Sen. Craig Before Senate Ethics Committee

Washington lawyer Stan Brand will represent Craig before the Senate ethics committee, said spokesman Dan Whiting.

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