Thread by @pleasesaveour

The House Ethics Committee on Thursday disclosed a federal investigation into GOP @RossSpano accused of accepting an illegal campaign loan

washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-r…

The freshman has faced questions about $180,000 in loans he accepted from friends last year during the closing months of his campaign, funds he later appeared to funnel into his campaign account, reporting them as a personal loan to the campaign.

Another matter concerned 14-term Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.) and his longtime companion Patricia Williams who has worked as an aide to Hastings since 1993. She currently earns $168,411 yearly as deputy district director, the highest salary in his office.

The relationship has

repeatedly come under public scrutiny, including in a 2012 report from the watchdog group @CREWcrew. The relationship was not against House rules at the time; Hastings told the Palm Beach Post, “my personal business is just that, personal.”

House rules, however, were changed in

February 2018 in light of the #MeToo movement to bar members from “engag[ing] in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House who works under the supervision” of the member in question. The Ethics Committee said Thursday said it was specifically considering that provision

and “whether [Hastings] has received any improper gifts, including any forbearance, from that employee.”

The committee also moved to extend its review of a matter involving @RashidaTlaib. According to an Office of Congressional Ethics report released Thursday, Tlaib came under

scrutiny for her decision to pay herself a salary of $45,500 through her campaign Candidate salaries are permissible under fed election law under certain circumstances, but invest found that Tlaib may have been paid for work perf after the election in violation of fed guidelines