Political Ethics

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — An Air Force officer who led the branch's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response unit has been charged with groping a woman in a parking lot.

Arlington County Police said Monday that they charged Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski of Arlington with misdemeanor sexual battery after an alleged assault about 12:30 a.m. Sunday in the Crystal City section of the county.

A police report says that the 41-year-old Krusinski was drunk and grabbed a woman's breast and buttocks. Police say the woman fought him off and called police.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is repealing some financial disclosure requirements for highly paid federal officials after an expert panel concluded that publishing details about their personal holdings and transactions online exposes them to identity theft and creates a national security risk.

NEW YORK (AP) — It's a case that smacks of small-time corruption, with allegations of cash payoffs in parked cars. But the charges a Democratic state senator schemed to bribe his way into the GOP race for New York City mayor are playing out on a big political stage.

The case has already created political quicksand for Republicans just as the mayoral race is heating up and might have a second act in Albany, where the investigation is reviving corruption as a hot-button concern after Gov. Andrew Cuomo campaigned on pledges to rout it out.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Michele Bachmann and her short-lived campaign last year for the GOP presidential nomination are being investigated by the Office of Congressional Ethics.

A lawyer for the Minnesota Republican said Monday that Bachmann is cooperating with the investigation. The Office of Congressional Ethics is an independent investigative body established by the House five years ago to conduct preliminary investigations into allegations of misconduct by House members or their aides. The panel can dismiss cases or refer them to the House Ethics Committee.