Ethics Complaints on Key Republican and Democrat Sent to Committee on Ethics

Yesterday, the Office of Congressional Ethics (“OCE”) announced that it has transmitted two referrals to the Committee on Ethics.

The OCE has found “substantial reason to believe” that Representative Marie Newman promised a job to her former political advisor so that he would not run against her in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District Primary Election in 2020. Representative Newman reportedly promised Iymen Chehade a salary in the range of $135,000 to $140,000, and the title of either District Director or Legislative Director, in exchange for his political support in an employment agreement they both signed in 2018. The promise of employment in exchange for political support is a violation of federal law, and the ethical standards that govern the behavior of members of the House.

In addition to the referral of Representative Newman, the OCE also transmitted a referral to the Committee on Ethics involving Representative Doug Lamborn. Representative Lamborn is alleged to have misused official House resources and violated gift rules applicable to members of the House by using official House staff to perform personal and campaign duties while on official time.

The OCE is an independent, non-partisan office which is responsible for reviewing allegations of misconduct, and makes referrals to the House Committee on Ethics, which then decides whether to conduct further investigation, impose sanctions, or dismiss the matter.