An ethics complaint was filed by a watchdog group against three Democrat members of the House Judiciary Committee.
The complaints were connected to a myriad of campaign fundraising violations.
According to Fox News:
Nonprofit watchdog group Americans for Public Trust filed complaints with the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) against Reps. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Lucy McBath, D-Ga., calling for investigations of possible violations of House rules and federal law. The organization, founded by former National Republican Congressional Committee research director Caitlin Sutherland, also filed complaints against Dean and McBath with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
“All three of these members have engaged in disturbing activities that appear to us to be violations of federal law and House rules. This is especially alarming given all three sit on the prestigious House Judiciary Committee, which has direct oversight responsibilities over the U.S. Department of Justice and, by extension, the nation’s law enforcement,” said Adam Laxalt, former Nevada attorney general and outside counsel to Americans for Public Trust. “We’re calling on the Federal Election Commission and the Office of Congressional Ethics to immediately investigate these suspicious activities.”
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The complaints against Dean claim that after she suspended her campaign for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, she used campaign funds from that race to go toward the congressional campaign she launched soon afterward. The complaints allege that this violated federal law — and by extension, House rules because campaigns for federal office must only use funds that were subject to the FEC. The complaints state that these expenditures continued after Dean was elected to Congress, and totaled more than $17,000.
The OCE complaint against Jayapal describes allegations that the Washington Democrat violated a House rule that prohibits members of Congress from soliciting campaign or political contributions that are “linked with an official action taken or to be taken by a House member.” The complaint also notes that federal law prohibits House members from requesting money or other things of value connected with performing an official duty.
The House Judiciary Committee played a central role in Trump’s impeachment so it will be interesting to see if they have the same zeal in investigating this alleged impropriety.
