H/t Michelle. The video in question was Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill) video for Yearly Kos. Earlier today, Reverse Spin and Backyard Conservative pointed out that in his video, which was used for political purposes, the seal of the United States Senate appeared in the right-hand corner. The Senate Ethics rules forbid the use of the seal for campaign use. The video was on DKos’ website since Saturday. DKos’ sole purposes, according to self-admission, is to elect Democrats.

Anne Leary of Backyard Conservative writes:

In his video presentation to the YearlyKos convention in Chicago, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL),the second-ranking Dem leader in the Senate, appears to have violated Senate ethics rules. Dick Durbin either broke Senate ethics rules by improperly using the Senate seal on a campaign video, or he used official resources to produce the video and then his campaign used that video.

And apparently our stellar Senator Durbin has now realized this himself, as he has changed the wording on his YouTube channel after the fact. Look at the before screenshot campaign wording on the channel title “Dick Durbin for Senate” and the page says “All the latest videos from Senator Dick Durbin’s election campaign”. The url is the campaign website, not the official one, and you can see the U.S. Senate seal superimposed on the frozen video screen.

Well, as Dan Curry notes, the video has now been pulled. But, c/o Michelle, the evidence exists:

And:

No Agenda writes:

One might suggest that Durbin used official resources to produce the video and then his campaign used that video. However, the Ethics manual makes it clear that it should not be used for campaign or political activities:

Official resources may only be used for official purposes. This principle derives in large part from 31 U.S.C. § 1301(a), providing that official funds are to be used only for the purposes for which appropriated, as well as from statutory authorizations for allowances. 418 It is thus inappropriate to use any official resources to conduct campaign or political activities. (Senate Ethics Manual, Chapter 6, Campaign Use of Official Resources, p 153)

Exit question: Which is more likely: I win the lotto or Dick Durbin gets called out on this by Congress? Smart money’s on my becoming a millionaire. Let’s remember the John Murtha incident, where he violated House rules by threatening to block people’s earmarks because of a Congressman’s vote. The vote failed to censure him, because the Democrats protected him, despite witnesses saying it happened, with CSPAN backing up the claim.

“The Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history.”

-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), November 2006