Ethics Committee extends probe of Indiana congressman

The panel reached its decision to extend its review Oct. 17, but only made it public Tuesday.

Stutzman, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for this year’s Senate race in Indiana, allegedly used campaign funds when he and his family went to Los Angeles. Stutzman did hold a few campaign meetings while there, but he paid for the family’s airfare and rental car with campaign funds.

During their almost six-day tip, the Stutzmans visited to Universal Studios and toured President Regan’s presidential library and family ranch. Through an attorney, Stutzman denied violating campaign finance laws.

The Congressional Ethics Office staff did not provide “exculpatory evidence” while the board deliberated about referring the matter to the Ethics Committee, Stutzman’s attorney claimed. The staff was “predisposed” to finding Stutzman “guilty,” the response reads.

The Congressional Ethics Office is an independent agency created in response to claims that Congress was not policing itself enough through the Ethics Committee. Numerous scandals, some of which ended in lawmakers and staffers going to jail, came to light between 2006-2008 but the Ethics Committee had ignored the allegations.

The office has a professional staff that investigates allegations of wrongdoing and presents a case to an eight-member board, which then decides whether to refer the matter to the bipartisan Ethics Committee for adjudication.