Morning Digest: Arizona Republican says he won't resign in the face of ethics investigation
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The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar. LeadMorning Digest: Arizona Republican says he won't resign in the face of ethics investigation
The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar. Leading Off ● AZ-06: The House Ethics Committee confirmed on Wednesday that its unanimous decision last year to investigate Republican Rep. David Schweikert came about because the panel had «substantial reason» to believe Schweikert had misused congressional resources for his campaign, in violation of House ethics rules. Schweikert has said he won't resign, but the investigation and $500,000 in legal fees may have taken a toll on the congressman's standing in the 6th District, a historically Republican seat in the Phoenix suburbs that has been moving to the left in recent years. Campaign Action Schweikert has been accused of pressuring his congressional staff to perform political activities on his behalf. Investigators are also looking into whether he, in their words, «authorized compensation to an employee who did not perform duties commensurate with his House employment,» which Roll Call previously described as code for an «off-the-books settlement» paid out to a staffer. It doesn't end there, though: The committee is also looking into whether a congressional employee gave Schweikert or his campaign improper loans or gifts. In addition, there’s the matter of the original complaint, which the committee first publicly acknowledged last May. That complaint included allegations that Schweikert’s campaign had paid Oliver Schwab, his now-former chief of staff, considerably more than congressional staffers are allowed to earn in outside income. Schweikert beat Democrat Anita Malik last year 55-45, which matched Trump's 52-42 margin but was by far the closest re-election of his congressional career. Malik may be hoping that the incumbent's ethical troubles and this district's leftward trend will result in a different outcome in 2020, since she just kicked off a rematch on Tuesday. However, she'll first have to get past a Democratic primary that includes physician Hiral Tipirneni, who is now running in this district after turning in a creditable performance in the neighboring (and much more conservative) 8th District last year. Read more