{"id":119250,"date":"2019-11-07T23:59:41","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T07:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=119250"},"modified":"2019-11-08T00:04:15","modified_gmt":"2019-11-08T08:04:15","slug":"report-finds-dc-councilman-jack-evans-flouted-ethics-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/report-finds-dc-councilman-jack-evans-flouted-ethics-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Report Finds DC Councilman Jack Evans, Sports Betting Proponent, Flouted Ethics Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pressure is mounting on District of Columbia Councilman Jack Evans to step down from his position after an independent report of ethics complaints tied to the longtime Washington local lawmaker was released earlier this week.<\/p>\n

\"\"
DC Councilman Jack Evans, seen here last week at an unveiling of a plaque denoting a famous scene from “The Exorcist,” faces calls to step down from his post by a majority of his colleagues after a report cited numerous ethics issues tied to him failing to disclose personal business relationships when casting votes on Council matters. (Image: DC Council\/Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Evans was a key proponent on the council not only to help legalize sports betting in the nation\u2019s capital but to also push for a sole-source contract to Intralot to run the DC Lottery\u2019s operations. That contract has since been challenged in a Washington court<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the same day the Council passed the Intralot contract, by a 7-5 vote, it also passed a resolution calling for a review into Evans personal business connections with companies doing business with DC government and its prime contractors.<\/p>\n

The investigation conducted by lawyers with O\u2019Melveny and Myers examined Evans\u2019 relationships with a \u201csignificant number of outside entities,\u201d according to the report. That included relationships tied to the DC Lottery contracts, including Intralot<\/a>. However, the report states that there was not enough evidence to prove that Evans personally benefitted as a result of the council\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n

However, the report far from absolved the councilman. Instead, it concluded Evans, an attorney, routinely failed to disclose relationships with businesses that received consulting services from him. Over the last five years, he took actions as a councilman that benefitted his private business clients without publicly acknowledging the relationships.<\/p>\n

Evans displayed a generally casual attitude towards the ethical responsibilities of a public official, exemplified by his \u201cI know it when I see it\u201d approach to conflicts of interests, which contributed to his repeated failures to comply with a number of basic ethical duties,\u201d the report stated.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After the release of the 97-page report, WAMU-FM reported that eight of Evans\u2019 colleagues called on him to resign from his seat, which he has held since 1991.<\/p>\n

Attorneys: Evans Claims Misunderstanding<\/h2>\n

After the Council\u2019s report was released, Evans\u2019 attorneys submitted their response to it. Attorneys with Winston and Strawn and BakerHostetler called the report\u2019s conclusions \u201cflawed\u201d and that any errors their client made were simply misunderstandings and not done intentionally.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no evidence or conclusion of tying financial gain to official acts or Mr. Evans changing a position to benefit a client,\u201d the rebuttal stated.<\/p>\n

They also called the Council\u2019s investigation a rush job. Saying that the 10-week review of 60,000 documents should have taken a much longer time to complete.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Council\u2019s investigation, Evans is also under a federal investigation into his business activities.<\/p>\n

Tough Road to Removal<\/h2>\n

In a letter to Evans\u2019 lawyers, Councilwoman Mary Cheh said Evans will be given the chance to speak before the council\u2019s special committee charged with reviewing the report and making recommendations to the full council on what actions it should take against him. Cheh serves as the chairwoman for the committee.<\/p>\n

\n

Should that committee recommend unseating Evans, it would require the support of 11 members of the full 14 member DC Council. With Evans on the Council, it means all but two remaining councilmembers would have to support removal for it to happen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The committee has until February to issue its recommendations to the Council.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pressure is mounting on District of Columbia Councilman Jack Evans to step down from his position after an independent report of ethics complaints tied to the longtime Washington local lawmaker was released earlier this week. Evans was a key proponent on the council not only to help legalize sports betting in the nation\u2019s capital but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":119251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReport Finds DC Councilman Jack Evans Flouted Ethics Rules<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reports indicate eight DC Council members want Jack Evans to step down after a report noted various ethics concerns regarding his business relationships.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Report Finds DC Councilman Jack Evans Flouted Ethics Rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reports indicate eight DC Council members want Jack Evans to step down after a report noted various ethics concerns regarding his business relationships.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/report-finds-dc-councilman-jack-evans-flouted-ethics-rules\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-08T07:59:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-11-08T08:04:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Jack-Evans.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1241\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"805\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" 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