U.S. Rep. John Conyers (Official photo)
U.S. Rep. John Conyers (Official photo)
Michigan Congressman John Conyers is under investigation by the House Committee on Ethics, Roll Call reports.
The Committee also announced investigations into Rep. Ray Luján, D-N.M., and a staffer for Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. The Washington, D.C., publication explains:
The panel did not disclose details of its inquiry. Since the probe was referred to the House committee by the Office of Congressional Ethics, details of the OCE’s reports are expected to be made public August 9.
It is unclear if the inquiries are related, but all three cases were sent to the committee by OCE on May 11. The announcement kicks off a 45-day public comment period required by the panel after a referral is transmitted to the committee from OCE. The OCE is independent of Congress.
The Detroit News got a statement from Conyers's office that addresses investigation's origin:
As the Ethics Committee stated, today’s press release does not indicate that any violation has occurred,” a Conyers spokeswoman said in a statement. “This is not a new controversy, but rather involves the same matter that the Office of Congressional Ethics released back in February. Mr. Conyers’ office has worked diligently at all times to comply with the rules, is cooperating with the Ethics Committee, and is confident that this matter can be swiftly resolved.”
Conyers' office did not respond to a follow-up request from The Detroit News for clarification. Its statement apparently refers to a past ethics probe of former chief of staff Cynthia Martin, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property in April 2016 after initially refusing to return $16,500 mistakenly transferred into her Congressional Federal Credit Union bank account.
