A congressional ethics investigation into Rep. M ike Honda's 2014 re-election campaign and office practices began on January 29, 2015. The main issue being investigated is whether Congressman Honda's office improperly used official resources to support his campaign. After the investigation is complete, a referral will be made to the house ethics committee.
A congressional ethics investigation into Rep. M ike Honda's 2014 re-election campaign and office practices began on January 29, 2015. The main issue being investigated is whether Congressman Honda's office improperly used official resources to support his campaign. After the investigation is complete, a referral will be made to the house ethics committee.
A congressional ethics investigation into Rep. M ike Honda's 2014 re-election campaign and office practices began on January 29, 2015. The main issue being investigated is whether Congressman Honda's office improperly used official resources to support his campaign. After the investigation is complete, a referral will be made to the house ethics committee.
I NVESTIGATION
O F
C ONGRESSMAN
M IKE
H ONDA's
( CD-17)
OFFICE
W ILL
C ONCLUDE
M AY
2015
San
Jose,
CA
-
A
congressional
ethics
investigation
into
Rep.
M ike
Hondas
2014
re-election
campaign
and
oce
practices
began
on
January
29,
2015.
The
main
issue
being
investigated
is
whether
Congressman
Hondas
oce
improperly
used
ocial
resources
to
support
his
campaign.
After
completing
a
30-day
preliminary
review,
the
Oce
of
Congressional
E thics
('OCE')
determined
there
was
enough
evidence
to
continue
to
second
stage
review.
T he
second
stage
of
the
investigation
will
conclude
at
the
end
of
April
2015.
After
the
investigation
is
complete,
if
the
board
of
the
OCE
determines
that
there
is
a
substantial
reason
to
believe
the
underlying
ethics
allegations,
a
referral
will
be
made
to
the
House
E thics
Committee. The
OCE
board
will
vote
on
this
referral
at
the
M ay
2015
monthly
meeting
of
the
board.
--[Note:
information
that
is
not
currently
public
ends
here]-- The
OCE
was
recently
in
the
news
because
Rep.
A aron
S chock
resigned
when
an
investigation
reached
the
preliminary
review
stage.
N otably,
Rep
Honda's
investigation
has
already
extended
beyond
where
former
Rep.
S hock
chose
to
resign.
T he
issues
Congressman
Honda's
oce
is
being
investigated
for
received
some
attention
during
the
2014
election
cycle,
when
Congressman
Honda
faced
a
challenge
from
Ro
K hanna.
According
to
Jeremy
B ird,
who
was
M r.
K hannas
consultant
for
the
2014
race,
these
ethics
allegations
were
crucial
to
converting
the
challengers
20-point
primary
decit
into
a
dead
heat
(link).
In
the
same
memo,
M r.
B ird
stated:
"[o] verall,
the
ethics
scandalhas
received
more
local
coverage
than
any
other
aspect
or
development
in
the
race. Previous
media
coverage
includes:
A BC
7
N ews
(link),
the
Los
A ngeles
T imes
(link,
link2),
the
S an
Francisco
Chronicle
(link,
link2),
the
S an
Jose
M ercury
N ews
(link)
and
T he
Hill
(link)
based
upon
S an
Jose
Inside's
original
story
(link)
and
follow
up
report
(link).
T he
Congressman's
chief
of
sta
apologized
for
the
potentially
improper
activities
(link).
Congressman
Honda
responded
to
the
allegations
by
promising
to
cooperate
with
any
investigation
(link).
A n
October
2014
poll
concluded
that
67%
of
likely
voters
in
California's
17th
Congressional
D istrict
were
concerned
about
the
matter
currently
being
investigated
(link
see
question
9).
###