The House Ethics Committee ordered Thursday that Rep. David Schweikert be fined $50,000 and reprimanded on the House floor for violating federal law and House rules by allowing his office to misuse taxpayer money, skirting Federal Election Commission reporting requirements, using campaign money for personal use and pressuring his staff to engage in campaign work.
The Ethics Committee plans to bring a privileged resolution to reprimand the Arizona Republican for a full House vote. Schweikert must repay the Treasury by Oct. 30.
The Arizona Republican’s Members’ Representational Allowance was misused for non-official purposes from January 2011 to November 2017, the Ethics Committee found. The report comes after the panel received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent investigative entity in the House that found there was a “substantial reason” to believe Schweikert violated federal and House rules. Continue reading.