All three candidates in the Democratic primary were quick to condemn Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., after the House Ethics Committee announced he and his top aide were under investigation. One has taken a step further.
Heather Ross, a professor and the Democratic frontrunner, wants Schweikert to fire his chief of staff, Oliver Schwab.
“The self-dealing that Congressman Schweikert allowed to take place is exactly what is wrong with Washington,” Ross said in a statement. “Rep. Schweikert should fire his top aide for using politics to enrich himself and for booking a vacation to the 2015 Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s tab.”
While Ross calls Schweikert the “leader of the swamp culture in D.C.,” sources call Schwab “the Aaron Schock of staffers.”
A November investigation by the Washington Examiner found that Schwab charged taxpayers for a $5,000 trip to Arizona during the 2015 Super Bowl, tens of thousands of dollars of office supplies, and for $7,000 worth of tuition for a class he took at Harvard.
But what could land the pair in legal trouble are the consulting fees that Schwab charged Schweikert. The November investigation also detailed how the chief of staff ran a consulting firm, Chartwell LLC, out of his Alexandria condo and charged his boss’s campaign $137,709 in “consulting fees.” That could be a problem, as congressional rules limit outside income of senior staff.
Schwab may have dodged a legal bullet by returning some of that money: He cut a check to the Schweikert campaign for more than $50,000 in “erroneous reimbursements.” But the partisan fallout is already here.
