In a joint statement, House Committee on Ethics Chairman Jo Bonner (R-AL) and Ranking Member Linda Sanchez (D-CA), announced Friday that their committee will probe the actions of Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL). The decision comes after a referral by the Office of Congressional Ethics last month.
Buchanan is reportedly already under a separate ethics investigation for alleged incomplete financial disclosure. The committee did not identify the nature of the new inquiry, though it did say it will announce its course of action on the matter, on or before May 9. An aide to the Florida Republican said the Congressman was confident the committee would clear him of any wrongdoing. Buchanan is also reportedly facing a federal grand jury investigation.
Despite House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) stated “zero-tolerance” policy on ethics, Buchanan continues to serve as finance vice chair for the National Republican Congressional Committee (the House GOP’s campaign arm). In fact, Buchanan was already one of more than 10 Republican Congressmen embroiled in ethics scandals.
Amusingly, Buchanan’s Congressional website includes stories calling for reform in light of a Bush administration ethics scandal at the Minerals Management Agency, and touts his work in support of a 2007 ethics and lobbying bill.