The U.S. House Ethics Committee is investigating the chief of staff to Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, reportedly over financial disclosures made by veteran aide Michael Collins.
Collins was named earlier in the day by the ethics panel, but initial press reports from Capitol Hill had not established what lawmaker he worked for.
The ethics review was confirmed to me late Friday night by Rep. Lewis' Press Secretary Brenda Jones.
"I spoke with Michael and he said this is regarding his financial disclosures," Jones said in an email.
"He is cooperating fully with the committee and is taking steps to satisfy its requests."
It was not immediately apparent how serious the investigation might be.
Jones gave no further information about the details of the review, or why it was red-flagged by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which relays possible cases to the Ethics Committee.
Collins did not respond to a request for comment.
The Committee announced on Friday that it will also take another 45 days to review ethics matters involving Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY).
Along with Collins, the chief of staff to Rep. Michael McCaul is also getting an extension on an ethics review into what was described as a "payroll matter."
Congressman McCaul, a Texas Republican, actually serves on the Ethics Committee.
The matter involving Rep. Meeks reporetedly deals with his failure to report a $40,000 loan from a New York businessman, an issue that has drawn the attention of outside ethics watchdog groups.
Rep. Schmidt's ethics review supposedly relates to legal aid she reportedly received from a Turkish-American group. She has denied any wrongdoing.
The ethics panel gave no details about any of these four ethics matters, as members issued the following statement:
“The committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the committee."
The panel now has until mid-August to determine if further investigation is warranted on the cases of the two lawmakers and two staffers.
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