Rep. Bob Filner, the California congressman charged with assaulting a baggage-claim attendant at Dulles Airport this summer, now faces potential charges from his colleagues in the House.
The House ethics committee announced Wednesday it will open a special investigation into the Aug. 19 incident, though it is unlikely to recommend a tough penalty, according to lawmakers familiar with the inner workings of the ethics panel.
“No sane person thinks this endangers his stay in Congress,” said one Democratic member who served for many years on the ethics committee. “I guess there is potential for a minor rebuke of some sort.”
Even Republicans who served on ethics said it would be unusual for Filner, 64, to receive much more than a letter of reprimand from the ethics panel, if he is punished at all.
“It’s a minor infraction,” said one Republican veteran of the ethics panel.
The seven-term congressman faces more serious consequences from prosecutors in Loudoun County, where he is facing a charge of misdemeanor assault and battery, which is punishable by up to one year and jail and a $12,500 fine. A hearing on Filner’s case is scheduled for Oct. 2 in Loudoun County General District Court.
Filner declined a request for an interview on Wednesday, and his spokeswoman did not return calls.
Filner’s trouble at the airport began when his bags were delayed.
An apparently angry Filner, airport officials said, pushed aside a United Airline employee, entered a restricted area and refused to leave the baggage-claim office.
Filner hassaid he regrets the incident and called it a misunderstanding.
The House had little choice in its decision to investigate Filner’s action. Under new rules, the ethics committee has 30 days to either begin investigating a lawmaker charged with a crime or report to the House why it will not.
The panel said it would delay any investigation until the criminal case against Filner in Loudoun is closed.
