We have a right to know

I am confused by the recent newsmaking story regarding the House Ethics Committee's leaked ethics report. On shows such as "COPS" and the weekly reports of charges listed in local newspapers, people are named with a presumption-of-innocence statement, "These people are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law." So why was an employee fired over a leaked report showing members of Congress who are currently under investigation? Don't we citizens have the right and deserve to know what people representing us are being accused of and investigated for? Doesn't this seem like a double standard? Is everyone else as tired as I am of hearing about all the corruption, personal benefits and scandals that plague our government? Maybe if they willingly published reports such as this, those representing us would be more inclined to get results, fulfill promises and behave in a respectable and honest way.

JAMIE WISNASKY, Perryville, Mo,