Investigators from the Office of Congressional Ethics are looking into allegations that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., or her staffers may have inappropriately used money raised during her presidential campaign.
According to a report from the Daily Beast, those allegations include “improper transfer of funds and under-the-table payments actions by Bachmann’s presidential campaign, specifically in relation to the campaign’s national political director, Guy Short, and Bachmann’s onetime Iowa campaign chairman, state Sen. Kent Sorenson.”
As a state senator in Iowa, Sorenson is legally prohibited from receiving campaign payments in exchange for support.
Investigators are apparently attempting to learn what role Bachmann may have played in any decisions surrounding the alleged misuse of campaign funds, and what, if anything, she knew about the decisions.
Bachmann’s lawyer says she is cooperating with the investigation and insists her name will be cleared in due time. “We are constructively engaged with the OCE and are confident that at the end of their review the OCE board will conclude that Congresswoman Bachmann did not do anything inappropriate,” said Bachmann’s lawyer William McGinley.
The Office of Congressional Ethics is an independent investigative body that conduct preliminary investigations into allegations of misconduct by House members. Depending on its findings, the panel will dismiss this case or refer it to the House Ethics Committee.
Morgan Whitaker