The U.S. House Ethics Committee announced Monday it will continue an investigation into spending by Chicago Congressman Luis Gutierrez. The Committee is looking into whether Gutierrez violated House rules - or federal law - when he hired his former Chief of Staff to consult his office.
The Chicago Democrat paid Doug Scofield nearly 600-thousand dollars from his congressional allowance. But a report made public Monday from the Office of Congressional Ethics questioned those payments.
House rules say congressmen can hire contractors to do non-legislative-type work. But the report suggests Scofield’s job may have more closely resembled that of a normal congressional staffer which is not allowed.
Nonetheless, the Ethics Committee is not yet taking the more serious step of forming a special panel to investigate.
A spokesman for Gutierrez declined to talk on tape, but he called the House rules in question - quote - “ambiguous.”
He says the congressman’s office is fully cooperating.