“The House formally reprimands a congressman for breaking campaign finance laws.
The House on Friday took the rare step of reprimanding one of its own members for ethics violations, voting unanimously to fine Representative David Schweikert, Republican of Arizona, $50,000 for breaking campaign finance laws.
The vote came after the House Ethics Committee found that Mr. Schweikert violated 11 House ethics rules. It marked the first time since 2012 that the House has reprimanded one of its members for an ethics violation.
“There is no joy in reprimanding one of our colleagues,” said Representative Dean Phillips, Democrat of Minnesota, who helped lead the investigation into Mr. Schweikert’s actions.
The committee said a two-year investigation had found “substantial reason to believe” that Mr. Schweikert had violated House rules, the Code of Ethics for Government Service, federal laws and other standards.
It cited Mr. Schweikert for campaign finance violations and errors in reporting by his campaign committees; the misuse of his congressional allowance; pressuring official staff members to perform campaign work; and his “lack of candor and due diligence” during the investigation.
House investigators found that Mr. Schweikert’s campaign had accepted more than $270,000 from his then-chief of staff, in violation of campaign finance laws. The former chief of staff also testified that he was pressured to raise money for the congressman’s campaign, a committee report said.
Mr. Schweikert had agreed to a $50,000 fine as part of an agreement to end the investigation.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/us/elections/biden-vs-trump.html#click=https://t.co/85ffMB2Z43