Updated

Updated · POLITICO · Aug 25

Ossoff Presses Mike Collins Over Ethics Probe Into Taxpayer Funds as Senate Race Tightens

Updated

Updated · POLITICO · Aug 25

Ossoff Presses Mike Collins Over Ethics Probe Into Taxpayer Funds as Senate Race Tightens

Q: Will the House Ethics Committee actually issue a subpoena to compel testimony regarding the alleged misuse of taxpayer funds?

There is no public indication that the House Ethics Committee has decided to issue a subpoena, and it may never do so. What is clear is that the Office of Congressional Conduct recommended in January that the committee subpoena Rep. Mike Collins after saying there was “substantial reason to believe” his office used official funds for unauthorized purposes and that he did not cooperate with its review. Outside ethics advocates have also urged the committee to use subpoenas if necessary. But the Ethics Committee does not comment on pending matters, so there is no confirmed timetable or signal that compulsory testimony is imminent. Collins’ side says he has cooperated with the committee itself and expects to be cleared, which, if accurate, could reduce the need for a subpoena even if he declined to work with the OCC. A major practical factor is timing. Reporting indicates the committee’s review could take months or even years. If the investigation is not resolved before Collins leaves the House at the end of his term in January, the case could effectively disappear, which would make a subpoena less likely to happen in time. The committee does have the power to subpoena witnesses and has used that authority in other cases, including unrelated recent investigations. So a subpoena is possible. But based on the public record, the best answer is that it remains uncertain, with no evidence yet that the committee has actually moved to compel Collins’ testimony.

3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Aug 25

Jon Ossoff on Tuesday demanded that Rep. Mike Collins testify and fully cooperate with a House Ethics Committee investigation into alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars in Collins’ congressional office.
A January Office of Congressional Conduct report said there was “substantial reason to believe” official funds were used for unauthorized purposes, including paying a district intern tied romantically to Collins’ chief of staff despite work not matching her compensation.
That report also said Collins refused to cooperate and recommended a subpoena; Brandon Phillips, the chief of staff at the center of the allegations, is no longer on payroll.
Collins’ campaign said Tuesday that he has fully cooperated with the House Ethics Committee, called the complaint politically motivated and said he expects to be cleared.
The clash lands as Ossoff fights for reelection in a closely watched Georgia race and as Congress faces renewed bipartisan pressure to tighten ethics enforcement.