The House Ethics Committee revealed Tuesday it is considering whether to investigate Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn.
In a statement, Ethics Committee Chairwoman Susan Brooks, R-Ind., and ranking member Ted Deutch, D-Fla., said they received a received an inquiry from the Office of Congressional Ethics regarding Duncan on Jan. 4. The committee has until April 4 to decide whether it will initiate an investigation into the Tennessee Republican.
The statement from the House Ethics Committee does not disclose what the inquiry was related to, but the Nashville Post reported in July that Duncan had paid his family members, including his two sons, hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds.
Duncan, who will retire at the end of the term, said in a statement the ethics complaint was “obviously very political and done by someone who was afraid I was going to run for reelection.” He also said the Office of Congressional Ethics reviewed his campaign expenditures and decided that Ethics Committee should look into “whether a very few of the larger expenditures were political and allowed to be paid for by campaign funds.”
“Every expenditure I have ever made out of my campaign funds has been done to help me politically and to assist in my campaigns,” Duncan said. “That is what campaign funds are for. I have never taken one penny personally other than to pay for meals when I was eating with campaign workers, supporters, or constituents visiting Washington. This is perfectly legal.”
The Tennessee Republican said the campaign work conducted by his staff and family members has allowed him to “run some of the cheapest congressional campaigns in this country.”
