House Ethics panel announces review of Rashida Tlaib's campaign payouts

The following is an excerpt from Blaze Media’s daily Capitol Hill Brief email newsletter:

Public scrutiny of Rashida Tlaib’s campaign finance practices has taken another step forward, with a House watchdog panel extending its review into the matter.

The issue — first raised by the Washington Free Beacon in March — is whether or not Tlaib illegally paid herself with campaign funds after the conclusion of her 2018 House bid. It’s legal for candidates to pay themselves out of campaign funds, but not after the campaign is over.

On Monday, the House Ethics Committee announced that it was extending its review of the matter, following a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) — an independent entity charged with looking into allegations of wrongdoing by House members, staff, and officers — in August. The OCE also recommended the cases of two Republican members for review. While not yet a formal ethics investigation, it could become one depending on the what the Ethics Committee finds and determines.

Tlaib’s office says that she’s cooperating in the matter. “As the Ethics Committee made clear, the fact that it received a referral does not mean any violation occurred,” a Tlaib spokesman told The Hill, adding that “Representative Tlaib has cooperated completely with the Committee to resolve the referral” and “fully complied with the law and acted in good faith at all times.”

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