Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who recently delivered the GOP's response to President Obama's State of the Union address, is facing a possible investigation by the House Ethics Committee, POLITICO reported.
A former staffer accused the congresswoman of mixing campaign funds with official funds to help win a race against Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) for the House GOP Conference Chair -- the position McMorris Rodgers currently holds.
A full probe into the allegations was recommended by the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). On Thursday, the Ethics Committee announced their plan to continue looking into the allegations until March 23. After that, the committee will have to appoint a special investigative subcommittee to perform a full investigation or drop the case entirely and release the OCE report.
McMorris Rodgers has fully denied the accusations and said she will continue to cooperate with the investigation.
"As has become an unfortunate rite of passage for many members of Congress, the OCE regularly refers matters to the House Ethics Committee for further review. Such reviews are virtually automatic, and as the committee always points out, does not indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the committee," said Elliot Berke, McMorris Rodgers's attorney, in a statement.
"The congresswoman and her office cooperated fully with the OCE during its inquiry and have already begun assisting the committee with its review. We are confident that the committee will ultimately find that the allegations were baseless and that her office always followed all laws, rules and standards of conduct."
According to POLITICO, a source close to the matter said the "disgruntled" former aide had been fired by the congresswoman.
"The complaint to the OCE was made by a former disgruntled employee, Todd Winer, who was terminated from the office with cause after [McMorris Rodgers] became Conference chair, and she decided not to choose him for the communications director position at Conference," the unnamed source told POLITICO.
