Report: Congress broke social media rules in rush to discuss Ryan as VP

Several Congress members may have broken the rules regulating official use of social media when responding to Mitt Romney’s announcement of his GOP running mate, according to the Sunlight Foundation.

Republicans and Democrats — like many regular citizens — rushed to Twitter and Facebook to express their opinion of Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). The various offices later deleted many of the tweets sent to official Twitter accounts, but the pro-transparency Sunlight Foundation archives all deleted tweets by individual members of Congress at its Politwoops website. “It's illegal to comment on political matters on your official profile,” said a source familiar with congressional ethics rules. “It's also bad practice because it confuses constituents on which is political and which is official. The news of a VP pick has nothing to do with your elected official duties.”