House ethics committee extends probe of Florida Democrat
Source: CNN
(CNN) - An already nasty Senate Democratic primary fight for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Marco Rubio got even more heated Tuesday with news that the House ethics committee is extending its probe of Rep. Alan Grayson.
The panel's announcement triggered the release of a report by the outside Office of Congressional Ethics, which outlined half a dozen allegations, including charges Grayson improperly managed a hedge fund while serving in Congress, used official staff for campaign purposes and failed to properly disclose business interests on annual financial forms.
The campaign of his Democratic primary opponent in the Senate race, Rep. Patrick Murphy, circulated the 74-page report shortly after its release.
The report, which was backed by all six members of the OCE, found that "there is substantial reason to believe that Representative Grayson improperly allowed the use of his name by four entities connected to Representative Grayson's hedge fund and Grayson Consulting, Inc. of Virginia, and received compensation through management fees from the Grayson Fund Management Company, LLC." It also found that through Grayson's retainer agreements in his law firms he may have held financial interests in legal proceedings involving the U.S. government while serving in the House, which would be in violation of the rules.
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Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/05/politics/alan-grayson-house-investigation-florida/
By Deirdre Walsh, CNN Senior Congressional Producer
Updated 2153 GMT (0453 HKT) April 5, 2016
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Source: USA Today
Paul Singer, USA TODAY 4:09 p.m. EDT April 5, 2016
The House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday that it has consigned a raft of allegations against Rep. Alan Grayson to investigative limbo, essentially guaranteeing the matter will not be resolved before the Aug. 30 primary for the U.S. Senate seat he is seeking.
In making its announcement, the committee also released a report by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics concluding that Grayson may have violated House rules by operating hedge funds that bore his name, using his congressional office to support both the hedge funds and his Senate race, and failing to disclose income and assets on his annual financial disclosure forms.
Grayson's Senate campaign released a statement welcoming the Ethics Committee decision, saying "the politically motivated allegations against Grayson are utterly frivolous." Grayson claims the OCE investigation is the result of a "disturbing and illegal collusion between OCE staff and the official staff of Rep. Patrick Murphy," the Florida Democrat who is running against Grayson for the Democratic nomination to replace Sen. Marco Rubio. Grayson said he is asking the Ethics Committe to investigate whether there was improper communication between OCE and Murphy's office.
Murphy's campaign did not immediately respond to that charge.
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Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/04/05/ethics-committee-buries-complaint-against-grayson/82664150/
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