A House lawmaker who will be out of office in January remains under the scrutiny of the House ethics committee.
The panel announced Wednesday it plans to extend its probe of Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., who is not running for re-election and lost a primary bid for the U.S. Senate.
The ethics committee will have to act soon. When Broun leaves office, it will have no more authority to investigate the matter because its jurisdiction includes only sitting members of the House.
According to the House ethics panel, Broun may have violated both House rules and federal law by spending $43,750 from his congressional office funds for the services of debate consultant and communications expert Brett O’Donnell between June 2012 and March 2014.
The matter was first investigated by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, a group of appointed officials who, unlike the House ethics panel, can accept ethics complaints from the public.
Broun, a medical doctor first elected with Tea Party support, said in a statement he believes he did not break the law or House rules and is “fully cooperating” with the ethics panel.
